14 DAY TRIAL // Thanks to the work of scientists with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States, it might be only a matter of time until mangled car parts and other damaged objects are able to repair themselves.
Thus, in a paper published in the journal Science this May 9, the University of Illinois researchers detail the development of materials that they say are capable of regeneration.
In their paper, the specialists explain that, although the scientific community is no stranger to self-repairing materials, the fact remains that, up until now, such materials have only been able to fix microscopic cracks.
By comparison, the materials developed during this University of Illinois research project are said to be able to regrow material to the extent needed to fill in fairly large cracks and even holes.
“We have demonstrated repair of a nonliving, synthetic materials system in a way that is reminiscent of repair-by-regrowth as seen in some living systems,” chemistry professor Jeffrey S. Moore says in a statement.
As detailed on the University's official website, the development of these materials that are capable of regeneration is based on previous experiments with so-called vascular materials, i.e. materials that are fitted with a system that enables the transportation and supply of various agents.
In the case of these newly developed regenerating materials, two capillaries that sit very close to one another serve to deliver chemicals that take care of repairing the hole or the crack that needs fixing.
Thus, when damage occurs, regenerative chemicals flow out of these capillaries and interact with one another. The result is a gel that fills the hole or the crack and eventually hardens, thus restoring the material's integrity.
“Vascular delivery lets us deliver a large volume of healing agents – which, in turn, enables restoration of large damage zones. The vascular approach also enables multiple restorations if the material is damaged more than once,” explains specialist Nancy Sottos.
“For the first time, we’ve shown that you can regenerate lost material in a structural polymer. That’s the kicker here. Prior to this work, if you cut off a piece of material, it’s gone. Now we’ve shown that the material can actually regrow,” adds research Scott White.
The regenerating system developed by the University of Illinois scientists has until now only been trialled on thermoplastics and thermosetting resins. The researchers plan to incorporate it in other types of materials in the near future.
The end goal is to roll out commercial plastics and polymers that are able to regenerate themselves, and that could serve to repair mangled cars and other damaged objects in a matter of minutes.
Check out the video below to learn more about this project.
