Rubber invention 'self-healing'

French chemists claim they have just created a rubber that can " heal " itself after being cut off, a breakthrough that could lead to the creation of self-healing clothing after being torn off. and self-repair toys after being damaged by children.

This molecular structure bridge - described by scientists as ' magic ' - can be mounted at room temperature in as little as 15 minutes by simply squeezing the broken pieces together. . The report of the invention was published in the British Science Weekly Nature .

Normal rubber consists of long cross-linked polymer chains that can stretch and then return to their original size.

The new formula developed by the team at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the private company Arkema also achieved similar elasticity by using a mixture of two smaller molecules. Some of them are ditopic, they bind to two other molecules. The rest is tritopic linked to 3 other molecules.

The molecular network is joined by a weaker hydrogen bond , which will be broken when the rubber is cut but also a molecular ' glue ', reconnected as a chain and instantiating the broken parts. harm.

Experimental rubber scientists " heal themselves " - (Telegraph.co.uk)

The composition of the new rubber includes fatty acids extracted from conventional vegetable oils, combined with diethyline triamine and urea, which are cheap and popular chemicals. The result of the combination is that a material becomes clear as glass at 8 ^° C and like soft rubber, can stretch 5 times the length before breaking. However, this material is different from rubber at the point where the fragments can be healed at room temperature (20 ^° C) without having to heat or even squeeze strongly. And it can be easily reprocessed.

" If you drill into a piece of rubber on the wall, the hole will patch itself ," said Ludwik Leibler, head of the research and affiliated unit of the CNRS Chemistry and Soft Materials Laboratory . Anything that requires pressure such as a joint or rubber coated jacket can be cured. The process of self-healing takes place many times . '

Arkema Manuel Hidalgo, a researcher, said the company and CNRS are working with other 'self-healing' materials including a paint that can be smooth again after being scratched.

The first products of the project will be launched in the next 1 or 2 years.

In a commentary published by Nature, synthetic materials scientists Justin Mynar and Takuzo Aida recalled when the first Spanish invasion saw the Aztecs play with a rubber ball bouncing on their face. Land, they think that such balls are the product of demons. The scientists wrote: 'Imagine their reaction if they witness the scene of two halves of the ball returning after being cut off. Even at the present time, doing that is a miracle. Yet now, that has become a reality. '