Researchers have created new materials that are very stretchable and extremely tough.
“Materials that can be deformed, but that are difficult to break or tear, are desirable,” says Michael Dickey, co-corresponding author of a paper on the work and the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University. “Nature is good at this; think of cartilage as an example. But engineering synthetic materials with these properties has been difficult, which makes our work here exciting.”
The new materials fall under the broader category of ionogels, which are polymer networks that contain salts that are liquid at room temperature. These salts are called ionic liquids.
Dickey and his collaborators have made ionogels that are nearly 70% liquid, but have remarkable mechanical properties. Namely, they’re tough – meaning they can dissipate a lot of energy when you deform them, making them very difficult to break. They’re also easy to make, easy to process, and you can 3D print them.
