A new multi-functional material which can be used to purify water, as a recyclable construction material, and as a lightweight machine component for possible use in soft robotics, can also be moved ...

This glue is made from leftover cooking oil, which contains fatty acids that are ideal for making flexible, durable, and ...

The first self-healing polymer has been produced by material scientists at RIKEN using a commercially available compound. The team offers a promising method for increasing the toughness and reducing ...

Chemists discovered a new way to make polymers stronger: introduce a few weaker bonds into the material. Working with polyacrylate elastomers, they could increase the materials' resistance to tearing ...

Bioengineers around the world have been working to create plastic-producing microbes that could replace the petroleum-based plastics industry. Now, researchers from Korea have overcome a major hurdle: ...

Even though many plastics are recyclable, most are not recycled because of the cost and labor needed. To help make plastic recycling easier, chemists want to find new polymers that require less work ...

Conductive organic materials often derive their electronic properties from highly organized crystal structures. Now, researchers have developed an organic polymer that conducts electricity like a ...