A new soft-yet-strong squishy material developed by scientists is able to regain its original shape after being run over by a car or walked over by an elephant.
The parts of the material that aren't water allow it to act like a hard glass when compressed. It's the first time a soft material like this has shown such resistance to compression.
The team behind the material says that it could be used in a number of practical applications after further development.
"You would think that at 80 percent water content, it would burst apart like a water balloon, but it doesn't: it stays intact and is resistant to huge compressive forces," says chemist Oren Scherman from the University of Cambridge in the UK. The properties of the hydrogel are not compatible.
When compressed, stretchy hydrogels are usually crushed. The way it uses crosslinks and the way it is structured are the reasons why this'super jelly' is different.
Here, the barrel-shaped molecule called Cucurbiturils held two guests in their own space like a handcuff. These guest molecules stay in place for a longer time if they are done by doing so.
The network of polymers controlling the material's mechanical properties is more tightly linked. The researchers describe it as slowing down the dynamics of the material, so that it can range from rubber-like states to glass-like states.
The way the hydrogel can hold up under compression was surprising, says chemist Jade McCune from the University of Cambridge.
The chemical structure of the guest molecule inside the handcuff could be changed to change the strength.
The weight of a car like the one in the video above is not something they have been able to do before.
This is the first time that glass-like hydrogels have been made. The study's lead author, a chemist at the University of Cambridge, says that they are opening a new chapter in the area of high- performance soft materials.
One way in which this material could be used is as a pressure sensor for real-time monitoring of actions such as standing, walking, and jumping. It would be able to change shape before returning to its original shape.
The material is going to be ready for use in bioelectronics, but further development is needed. This early demonstration shows a lot of promise, but it's still early.
"People have spent years making rubber-like hydrogels, but that's just half of the picture." A new class of materials that span the whole range of material properties from rubber-like to glass-like has been created.
Nature Materials has published the research.
