Technology

Yes, There Really Is ‘Self-Healing‘ Plastic That ’Bleeds’

The line between man and machine continues to be burred, and next-gen plastics are taking it a step further. A team of researchers at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society described a type of plastics that would “bleed” when scratched, punctured or otherwise “wounded” and would then proceed to repair itself.

ACS has more on a polymer that, like human skin, would have the ability to self-repair:

“Mother Nature has endowed all kinds of biological systems with the ability to repair themselves,” explained Professor Marek W. Urban, Ph.D., who reported on the research. “Some we can see, like the skin healing and new bark forming in cuts on a tree trunk. Some are invisible, but help keep us alive and healthy, like the self-repair system that DNA uses to fix genetic damage to genes. Our new plastic tries to mimic nature, issuing a red signal when damaged and then renewing itself when exposed to visible light, temperature or pH changes.”

Urban, who is with the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg foresees a wide range of potential applications for plastic with warn-and-self-repair capabilities. Scratches in automobile fenders, for instance, might be repaired by simply exposing the fender to intense light. Critical structural parts in aircraft might warn of damage by turning red along cracks so that engineers could decide whether to shine the light and heal the damage or undertake a complete replacement of the component. And there could be a range of applications in battlefield weapons systems.

Self Healing Plastics Bleed When Injured, Repair When Exposed to Light

Self-healing plastic turns red when "injured" and returns to normal color when repaired. (Image: Marek Urban)

ACS goes on to report that as of right now there are two strategies to develop self-healing polymers. One depends on compounds with “healing” properties being released when a plastic becomes “injured.” Others rely on exposure to a certain type of light to catalyze the reaction. Urban believes those healing through light exposure are more beneficial as they can repair multiple times, whereas those relying on compounds that can heal only once.

Discovery News reports that this is the first case of a polymer that changes color when damaged and also heals itself. This color change, according to University of Fribourg scientist Christoph Weder who showed in a paper last year that UV light could heal certain polymers, is crucial for indicating where a plastic may need light exposure. Discovery News reports Weder saying, “It shows you where the defect is and the system can then be healed.”

Urban’s research was partially funded by the Department of Defense.

[H/T Popular Science]

Comments (11)

  • Free2speakRN
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 2:42am

    Incredible. I hope it is used for good. That’s always the wonder.

    Report Post »  
  • lukerw
    Posted on March 27, 2012 at 8:00pm

    Man… makes things… in his own Image… alike the Processor of a Computer being the Brain… Memory being Memory… Software being Mind… etc. And, since we are a Predator Speices, Robotic Killing Machines…

    Report Post » lukerw  
  • Aerocog
    Posted on March 27, 2012 at 7:34pm

    Skynet comes closer and closer to a reality!

    Report Post »  
  • Cesium
    Posted on March 27, 2012 at 6:59pm

    “University of Southern Mississippi” For all those who think this is cool, support academic funding. Some of you are the same people who think this is cool and then rail against giving money to scientists… None of you have any clue as to why people were studying shrimp on a treadmill and how that knowledge could contribute to medical technology in the future.

    Report Post »  
  • Joisey
    Posted on March 27, 2012 at 4:40pm

    Amazing!

    Report Post » Joisey  
    • INDISPUTABLETRUTH
      Posted on March 28, 2012 at 3:18am

      AMAZING??????AMAXING WOULD BE THE SPECIFICS AND THE PROBABLY PRETTY BASIC HOWS,AS TO EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN (AND WHAT CHEMICALS)IT SUPPOSEDLY“heals”/REPAIRS ITESLF.THAT WOULD MAKE IT INTERESTING!WAY TO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS TO BE TRULY ‘INTERESTING’

      Report Post » INDISPUTABLETRUTH  
  • tharpdevenport
    Posted on March 27, 2012 at 4:06pm

    Somewhere between five and tean years ago — and I’m STILL waiting for it — I watched a special on a special kind of metal/or polymer, I think it was called Shape Memory.

    The shape of the item is retained into molecular structure some way. If your bumper was made out of it, and you had a fender accident and it was dented, you use hot or cold water (what ever was specified) and it popped back into place like new. It was neat to watch.

    Report Post » tharpdevenport  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on March 27, 2012 at 3:16pm

    This is similiar to what was called “Memory Metals” back in the late ’80s as well.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • TSUNAMI-22
    Posted on March 27, 2012 at 3:14pm

    SkyNet will be interested in this, I’m sure.

    Report Post »  

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