In a remarkable feat of chemistry, a Northwestern University-led research team has developed the first two-dimensional (2D) mechanically interlocked material.
Resembling the interlocking links in chainmail, the nanoscale material exhibits exceptional flexibility and strength. With further work, it holds promise for use in high-performance, light-weight body armor and other uses that demand lightweight, flexible and tough materials.
Publishing in the journal Science (« Mechanically interlocked two-dimensional polymers »), the study marks several firsts for the field. Not only is it the first 2D mechanically interlocked polymer, but the novel material also contains 100 trillion mechanical bonds per 1 square centimeter — the highest density of mechanical bonds ever achieved. The researchers produced this material using a new, highly efficient and scalable polymerization process.
In a remarkable feat of chemistry, a Northwestern University-led research team has developed the first two-dimensional (2D) mechanically interlocked material.
Resembling the interlocking links in chainmail, the nanoscale material exhibits exceptional flexibility and strength. With further work, it holds promise for use in high-performance, light-weight body armor and other uses that demand lightweight, flexible and tough materials.
Publishing in the journal Science (« Mechanically interlocked two-dimensional polymers »), the study marks several firsts for the field. Not only is it the first 2D mechanically interlocked polymer, but the novel material also contains 100 trillion mechanical bonds per 1 square centimeter — the highest density of mechanical bonds ever achieved. The researchers produced this material using a new, highly efficient and scalable polymerization process.
The first hours of a lithium-ion battery’s life largely determine just how well it will perform. In those moments, a set of molecules self-assembles into a structure inside the battery that will affect the battery for years to come.
Lire la suiteThink of a computer chip that bends, rather than breaks. That’s the potential of a new study by scientists at Rice University and Los Alamos National Laboratory (Nature Nanotechnology, « Wafer-scale monodomain films of spontaneously aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes »).
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