New self-healing resin based on blood clotting mechanism

Experts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new self-healing plastic that can patch holes up to more than 3 centimeters, 100 times more than any other self-healing plastic. This means that in the future, the phone screen is cracked or a broken tennis racket will be able to repair itself.

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Simulation on the computer process 'patch' the hole of the new plastic

Professor Scott White and his colleagues have created a plastic that contains tiny particles, which contain chemicals that heal, so that when the material is cracked, it will be released to seal the crack. However, this technique can only patch the cracks (or scratches) very small.

In order to heal larger lesions, the team has developed a new 'vein' resin , inspired by the arteries and veins in the human body.

Accordingly, when cracked or punctured, the capillary webs of the platelets secrete chemicals in two separate streams and combine to form a 'patch' reaction in two steps. First, they form the gel frame on the surface of the crack, then the gel slowly solidifies into a solid structure.

"We have connected the cracks over 35mm within 20 minutes and restored its mechanical function within 3 hours," the researchers published in the journal Science. In addition, tests show that the new self-healing resin has recovered 62% of its initial strength.