Scientists have recently developed a highly stretchable material that is self-healing, transparent, and can be electrically activated and used in order to improve batteries, electronic devices, and even robots.
Prof. Chao Wang at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), along with a team of researchers, found that the material was highly conductive when they saw how it reacted when voltage was applied. Also, after cutting the material with scissors, they found that it would heal itself 24 hours later.
The team's findings were recently published in the journal Advanced Material, in the paper A Transparent, self-healing, highly stretchable ionic conductor, and it details the unique design and properties of this material and how it can be used to electrically activate not only electrical devices and robots etc, but it can also activate transparent artificial muscles.
The paper describes their process in trying to bridge together both the research on ionic conductors, with that of self-healing materials.
One exciting application is that this technology/material could be used to help robots heal themselves when they get injured. It can also possibly be used to extend the life of batteries, can be used in electric cars, and more. Wang says that him and his team are just beginning to explore the possible applications.
Wang says that he was interested in self-healing materials because of his interest in the Wolverine comic books. Wang developed the low-cost, soft rubber that's able to be stretched at least 50 times its original length. After it gets cut it can also heal itself and after only a few minutes of starting the self-healing process it can still be stretched to about twice its size.
Being able to create a material with all of those properties has proved challenging for years, but now that they have successfully done it, then comes time to explore the implications of that and how the material can be used.
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Sources:
https://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/43181
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201605099/abstract
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201605099/epdf?r3_referer=wol&tracking_action=preview_click&show_checkout=1&purchase_referrer=onlinelibrary.wiley.com&purchase_site_license=LICENSE_DENIED_NO_CUSTOMER
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4070900/The-material-let-robots-REPAIR-Wolverine-style-substance-heals-24-hours.html