Monday May 04, 2009
Self Repairing Polymers
Janice Karin
The Future Of Things
Researchers Biswajit Ghosh and Marek Urban at the University of Southern Mississippi are developing self-repairing polymers that will heal themselves upon exposure to sunlight. The new material is composed of scratch-resistant polyurethane, oxetane (OXE), and chitosan (CHI) - as the OXE bleeds out into nicks in the polyurethane, it chemically bonds with the CHI to fill the gap when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation such as sunlight.
This combination of components is the key to the self-repairing layer. Polyurethane is an elastic polymer that's already quite resistant to scratches, providing the first layer of protection.
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Posted in: by bubblejam at 07:39 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry