Successfully developed materials that can transform themselves

Scientists have created an artificial flower that can hatch itself with this self-transforming material.

Programmable self-transforming materials can help create implantable medical devices capable of self-deploying within the body at arbitrary speeds.

The ability to self-transform gives this material many possibilities for new applications as well as expand the support of existing applications."This is a very normal mechanism in living organisms. Evolutionary birds grow wings to fly , " said researcher Sergei Sheiko, a materials scientist at the University of North Carolina.

Scientists have developed a variety of materials that are capable of structural changes over the years, but they often need an external impact to stimulate the transformation of shapes like light, temperature, and electricity. acidity or acidity.

However, in many cases, experts want devices that can change shape without external stimulation to maintain a stable state of the environment. For example, "the human body takes a lot of energy to maintain body temperature and alkalinity," sheiko told Live Science.

Picture 1 of Successfully developed materials that can transform themselves
Programmable self-transforming materials can help create implantable medical devices capable of self-deploying within the body at arbitrary speeds.

He and his colleagues have successfully developed materials that can transform themselves over time."It's like a coffee or washing machine - you set the timer and it runs itself."

This material possesses two chemical bonding networks, which have opposite effects. A very flexible network, which plays a central role in the transformation process, while the remaining network can bend to determine the speed of changing the shape of the material. By balancing the ratio between these two chemical bonding networks, the researchers can program the transformation rate from a few seconds to a few hours.

In the experiment, scientists can create an artificial flower whose wings expand one by one."The purpose of this work is to allow synthetic materials to function and properties of living cells ." According to Sheiko. Temperature can make this process faster or slower. "This is another way to control the process and may be useful for some applications."


In the experiment, scientists can create an artificial flower whose wings expand one by one. " The purpose of this work is to allow synthetic materials to function and properties of living cells."

Shape-shifting materials that change shape over time can stimulate the development of programmed implantable medical devices for self-deployment after implantation. The original shape of the device allows implants without complicated surgery and the device will change its shape to get the desired function.

Future research will probably reveal how to timer. According to Sheiko, "programming to make materials that can be converted into multiple forms in a chain is also a challenge."