Polymers and soft materials news, August 2022

Researchers float the idea of artificial leaves

Using thin-film metal oxides and perovskites, researchers have created fuel-producing artificial leaves that are light enough to float on water.

Making surfaces water-repellent with sandpaper

Making surfaces superhydrophobic without using chemicals

Novel hydrogel is strong enough for knees

Researchers have developed a hydrogel that is stronger and more durable than natural cartilage, making it ideal for use in knee implants.

Weight not an issue for novel polymerization technique

Researchers have developed a novel polymerization technique that can control the molecular weight of polymers.

Printed structures can sense their movements

Researchers have printed structures that use air-filled channels to sense how they are moving and interacting with the environment.

Thinking about graphene synapses

Researchers have developed a transistor made from graphene and the polymer nafion that can operate like synapses in the brain.

Carbon capture materials sourced from cheap and sustainable resources

Using melamine to efficiently capture CO2 from flue gases

Wearable chip made of polymers helps precision medicine

Polymer computing chip tracks health in real time

Sanding surfaces can make them superhydrophobic

Using sandpaper and a selection of powders, researchers have come up wth a simple method to make surfaces superhydrophobic.

Openings for Editors, the Acta Journals

Novel carbon-capture material is cheap and plastic

Using an inexpensive polymer called melamine, researchers have created a cheap, easy and energy-efficient way to capture carbon dioxide.

Colorful films stretch back to the 19th century

By applying a 19th-century color photography technique to holographic materials, researchers were able to print large-scale images onto elastic materials.

Block copolymers make cool electronic devices

By modulating the thermal switching temperature of block copolymers, researchers have come up with a novel way to cool electronic devices.