Materials known as 'self-destructive timers' can cause ink to disappear

Scientists have created a new material capable of self-destructing at a specific time. This finding may lead to many different products, including ink itself.

The secret behind these self-destructive molecules is that they need a small amount of energy to survive - and when that energy is gone, they will disappear.

When people have finished using a certain item, they will throw it in the garbage. There, they will be very, very slow to decompose so humans either burn them into ash, or recycle materials by treating them and then putting them back to use in different forms. All of these measures waste a large amount of material or energy.

But life does not "waste" molecules in the same way, but mostly "waste" in the form of chemical bonds. For example, most man-made solids are produced by using a covalent bond. These links are extremely powerful, very difficult to break. For example, a plastic polymer forms tough carbon bonds that bacteria cannot break down, which is why plastics are not biodegradable.

The team said the material could be used as a "self-erasing ink".

However, life depends on random connections: much weaker molecular interactions such as ion bonds, van der Waals or hydrogen. For example, hydrogen bonding is a form of electrostatic attraction that is 10 times weaker in water than covalent bonds. Life is also based on another important factor that contributes to the creation of new disappearing molecules: that is, the molecular structures in life are always "in equilibrium" , meaning they need a flow of energy. continuous to operate. Without that excess energy, these molecules will eventually dissociate and return to a simpler state.

"A cell constantly needs nutrients and energy , " Boekhoven said. "Otherwise, it will disintegrate into simple blocks , " said Job Boekhoven, co-author and chemist at Munich Technical University in Germany.

According to Live Science, in recent research work, Boekhoven and colleagues decided to create some kind of energy-needing material to maintain the current states, which scientists call molecules. super molecule . The first is a simple colloid made from small particles, the size of only 1% of the diameter of a hair. When adding a material, small particles will move and arrange like a pearl chain, adjustable for assembly and disassembly in a certain order and at certain times. Boekhoven said he envisioned these ingredients to be used to "pack" drugs. For example, some drugs create stomach acid, so if they are timed to disappear after entering the intestine, that material can protect the drug until it has reached the position. wish, Boekhoven said.

The researchers also tested a soft, transparent crystal material, but would become fuzzy and opaque when one came into contact with another. When that fuel is used up, opaque spots become clear again. The team said the material could be used as a "self-erasing ink".

"With this ink, you can create a temporary message and then it will delete itself. Such a material can significantly reduce the use of ordinary paper in things like invoices, tickets and receipts , " Boekhoven said.

Meanwhile, this study could also be used to create another material used in tissue transplants, and it will disappear on its own after the effect has been well developed and the body has received enough.