polymers

Polymers could create self healing paints and clever packaging

harminka — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:45:44 -0600

Research chemists at the University of Warwick have devised an elegant process which simply and cheaply covers small particles of polymer with a layer of silica-based nanoparticles.

New recipe for self-healing plastic includes dash of food additive

harminka — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:38:51 -0500

Adding a food additive to damaged polymers can help restore them to full strength, say scientists at the University of Illinois who cooked up the novel, self-healing system.

Compressor-free refrigerator may loom in future

harminka — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:40:59 -0500

Refrigerators and other cooling devices may one day lose their compressors and coils of piping and become solid state, according to Penn State researchers who are investigating electrically induced heat effects of some ferroelectric polymers.

Metals shape up with little help from friends

harminka — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:15:23 -0500

For 5,000 years the only way to shape metal has been by the "heat and beat" technique. Even with modern nanotechnology, metalworking involves carving metals with electron beams or etching them with acid.

MIT crafts bacteria-resistant films

harminka — Fri, 16 May 2008 06:07:28 -0500

Having found that whether bacteria stick to surfaces depends partly on how stiff those surfaces are, MIT engineers have created ultrathin films made of polymers that could be applied to medical devices and other surfaces to control microbe accumulation.

Shape-memory polymers designed for biomedical applications

harminka — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:35:08 -0600

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing unique polymers, which change shape upon heating, to open blocked arteries, probe neurons in the brain and engineer a tougher spine.

ICI Selects AT&T for Enhanced Managed Security Services

harminka — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:36:28 -0600

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced today that ICI, one of the world's major coatings, adhesives, starch and synthetic polymers businesses, has selected AT&T to provide an enhanced level of managed security services across its global network.

New paper reveals nanoscale details of photolithography process

harminka — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:37:47 -0600

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made the first direct measurements of the infinitesimal expansion and collapse of thin polymer films used in the manufacture of advanced semiconductor devices.

Researchers unlock hydrogen’s secrets to spot polymorphism in pharmaceuticals

harminka — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:27:07 -0500

Researchers at the University of Warwick and Astra Zeneca have found a new way to use solid-state NMR equipment to crack the secrets of hydrogen atoms and thus spot unwanted polymorphs in pharmaceuticals.

Better displays on laptop computers, cell phones

harminka — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:05:07 -0500

UCLA chemists working at the nanoscale have developed a new, inexpensive means of forcing luminescent polymers to give off polarized light and of confining that light to produce polymer-based lasers.

Novel method for nanostructured polymer thin films

harminka — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:58:22 -0500

All researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) wanted was a simple, quick method for making thin films of block copolymers or BCPs (chemically distinct polymers linked together) in order to have decent samples for taking measurements important to the microelectronics industry.

JILA finds flaw in model describing DNA elasticity

harminka — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:33:41 -0500

DNA, the biomolecule that provides the blueprint for life, has a lesser-known identity as a stretchy polymer. JILA scientists have found a flaw in the most common model for DNA elasticity, a discovery that will improve the accuracy of single-molecule research and perhaps pave the way for DNA to become an official standard for measuring picoscale forces, a notoriously difficult challenge.