Bio-based polymers that heal cracks being developed

摘要

RESEARCH is being carried out for the development of biorenewable polymers capable of healing themselves as they degrade and crack is being conducted by Kessler, an Iowa State University associate professor of materials science and engineering and an associate of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory. The research project is supported by a five-year, $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Program. The technology has evolved into a system that embeds catalysts and microcapsules containing a liquid healing agent within a composite. As cracks develop in the composite, they rupture the microcapsules and release the healing agent. The healing agent contacts the catalyst and reacts by forming 3-D polymer chains that fill the cracks. That increases material lifetimes and reduces maintenance.