Ring-shaped polymers solidify into glass, offering sustainable material potential
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by Monica Cooney, Carnegie Mellon University Materials Science and Engineering
When a spider is spinning its web, its silk starts out as liquid and quickly turns into a solid that is, pound for pound, sturdier than steel. They manage to create these impressive materials at room temperature with biodegradable and environmentally friendly polymers. Materials scientists at Carnegie Mellon are studying these processes to better understand the ways biological systems manipulate polymers, and how we can borrow their techniques to improve industrial plastic processing.
One unique quality of polymers is that their molecules can have different shapes or "architectures," and these shapes can have a big impact on their material properties and recyclability. Polymer chains can form molecular strings, mesh-like networks, or even closed rings.
