Plasticstrends

Scientists at Alberta Research Council (ARC) are at the forefront of bio-fibres research.  The bio-fibres include flax, hemp and jute.  In ARC’s annual report of 2007-2008, Dr. John Wolodko predicted that hemp fibres would be commonly used in consumer products such as car parts and building materials around the world within the next decade.  Process development for blending hemp fibres with locally produced plastics have been ARC’s years of experience.

Recently, Motive, a full vehicle development firm has announced the development of Canada’s first bio-composite bodied electric car.

The car, called the Kestrel, will make its full marketing debut during the September EV 2010 VÉ Conference and Trade Show in Vancouver. The body of the car is made from impact resistant bio composite material. Kestrel designer Darren McKeage says – “electric cars need to be efficient, therefore the Kestrel design had to be simple (minimized part count) and light weight, while still being unique and eye catching.”

The bio composite material is made from Hemp mats produced by Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF) in Edmonton Alberta from Hemp stock grown in Vegreville, Alberta.

For more information see: http://www.motiveind.com/news-motiveunveilskestrel-aug2010.html

Based on the same principles of how a cornstarch solution hardens on impact, Singapore researchers have invented a new flexible, lightweight, impact-resistant composite material. Not quite body armour made out of cornstarch but scientists from Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) and the National University of Singapore have used the same scientific principles to invent a new made-in-Singapore lightweight, flexible, and simple to make composite material capable of dissipating high impact energy.

The material is a composite which consists of a polymer and a combination of other materials engineered through a patented method developed in Singapore. It works based on the concept of shear thickening, meaning the material is soft and fluid at rest but becomes rigid upon impact, just like a cornstarch solution. When moved gently, the molecular chains that hold the material together can ‘slide’ past one another, hence giving the material a soft consistency. In other words, the material will bend and flex smoothly under lightly applied force. But hit it or make sudden movements and the molecular chains do not have time to react properly and become entangled turning the material rock-solid. Similar shear thickening fluid-based materials technology involves encapsulating it within a foam matrix. The secret to the new IMRE-NUS material lies in how it’s made - with a patented method that not only allows it to be more flexible and soft without the need for foam encapsulation, but also helps the material spread out high-impact force much more effectively and quickly than other products.

[Ref: Press release: July 28, 2010;  http://www.news.gov.sg/public/sgpc/en/media_releases/agencies/astar/press_release/P-20100728-2/AttachmentPar/0/file/Bullet%20proof%20cornstarch%20armour_260710.pdf

Millions of teeth are restored each year by root canal therapy.  “Been there done that” – you could say that.  During the procedure, a dentist removes the painful, inflamed pulp, the soft tissue inside the diseased or injured tooth that contains nerves and blood vessels.  Although current treatment modalities offer high levels of success for many conditions, an ideal form of therapy might consist of regenerative approaches.   

A group of French scientists reported the development of a multilayered, nano-sized film — only 1/50,000th the thickness of a human hair containing a substance that could help regenerate dental pulp.  Fibroblasts are the main type of cell found in dental pulp. The scientists showed in laboratory tests alpha-MSH combined with a widely-used polymer produced a material that fights inflammation in dental pulp fibroblasts.  Nano-films containing alpha-MSH also increased the number of these cells. This could help revitalize damaged teeth and reduce the need for a root canal procedure, the scientists suggest.

[Ref: F. Fioretti, C. Mendoza-Palomares, M. Helms, D. Al Alam, L. Richert, Y. Arntz, S. Rinckenbach, F. Garnier, Y. Hakel, S.C. Gangloff and Nadia Benkirane-Jessel; ACS Nano,  4 (6), pp 3277–3287 (2010)]

 

Bones are known to have a capacity to regenerate themselves after suffering a partial damage.  This is not the same when a serious break occurs and the loss of tissue is substantial.  One could treat with various kinds of grafts, but they do have a number of disadvantages, e.g., rejection, contamination or limitations on donors.

Ms. Beatriz Olalde, researcher at the Health Unit of Tecnalia at the University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU), in her Ph.D. thesis entitled, “Development of a new porous, biodegradable nanocompound support for the regeneration of bone tissue” designed and studied biodegradable porous support.

Ms. Olalde utilized polylactic acid (PLA), hydroxyapatite and carbon nanotubes as constituents for the porous support.  PLA being biodegradable disappears as the bone grows. To this the researcher added a bioceramic — hydroxyapatite  which provides calcium, facilitating the integration of the support into the surrounding bone cells. Finally, the carbon nanotubes provide the essential mechanical properties of the polymers.   For more information, follow the referenced link below.

[Ref: News release, July 30, 2010, http://www.basqueresearch.com/berria_irakurri.asp?Berri_Kod=2814&hizk=I ]

Bioactive glasses or Bioglass materials were first developed by Prof. Larry Hench’s group at the University of Florida in the late 1960s.   Due to its biocompatibility, surface reactive glass-ceramic biomaterials are called “Bioactive glasses”.  Many variations have been developed since.  These glasses have shown excellent biocompatibility in the bone regeneration field.  This is because of their ability to form a bi-active layer at the interface in contact with living tissues.  Silica based bio-glasses are an integral part of such bioactive materials, and have been used in many orthopaedic and dental applications.  The recent development of nano-scale bioactive glasses which enhances osteoconductivity i.e., a scaffold’s ability to support cell attachment to deposition to bone formation has opened up a promising new research area.

Are you a biomedical researcher?  How polymers can play a critical role in your research work?  Read on ….

One could use bioactive glass nanofibers as fillers for bone or embedding them into biodegradable polymers such as PLA, PHB, poly caprolactone, starch, chitin or collagen as polymer nanocomposites.  Essentially, polymer based bioactive glass nanocomposites broadens the application potential of bioactive glasses to orthopaedic applications including tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.  Recent developments have been reviewed by a group of European scientists.

[Ref: A. Boccaccini et al, Comp. Sci. and Technol., doi: 10.1016/j.compscitech.2010.06.002]

Leo Messi together with David Villa, helped Adidas AG launch lightest-ever football boot.  The new boot weighs only 165 grams and made of various types of polyurethane.  Leo Messi, playing for Argentina in the World cup 2010, will be the first player to wear the F50 boot which has a distinct purple and white colour to it. However, 11 more world cup player will have the same privilege of wearing the F50 boot.

The boot design provides a wider footbed and heel to uniformly distribute forces throughout the boot which is vital in any lightweight product. The SprintSkin upper utilizes a single layer of microfiber polyurethane fabric to decrease weight and to make sure the shoe fits snugly and comfortably.  On the other hand asymmetric parallel lacing creates a large, clean kicking surface for optimal ball contact.  Also, the boot has a perforated Ultra Light insole not only to reduce weight but to increase speed.

[Ref: Plastics News: May 17, 2010]

The soccer match Ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup also features a brand new, ground-breaking technology called a new Grip’n'Groove technology.  The ball is designed to show power, swerve and control never seen before. Again, plastics make all the difference!

Comprising only eight, completely new thermally bonded 3-D panels of polyurethane, which for the first time are spherically molded.  The ball is perfectly round and even more accurate than before.

For more visit:

http://www.soccerballworld.com/Jabulani_2010.htm

http://www.worldcupbuzz.com/world-cup-2010-match-day-ball-revealed/

Graphene’s outstanding electrical, chemical, and mechanical properties are known for applications in flexible electronics.  The problem however, has been to attain the quality required to produce touch screen device at a scale so that it could challenge indium tin oxides (ITO) based transparent electrodes.

Now, a team of researchers led by J-H. Ahn and B. H. Hong of Sungkyunkwan University, Korea, made a rectangular graphene film measuring 30 inches (76 cm) in the diagonal and reported in the Nature Nanotechnology Journal.  After the graphene was doped by nitric acid treatment, graphene sheet behaved as a large and transparent electrode.  Also, by using layer-by-layer stacking they developed a doped four-layer film and studied its sheet resistance at values as low as ~30 ? ?^?1 at ~90% transparency.  In fact, this result is superior to commercial indium tin oxides transparent electrodes. The researchers further showed that the graphene film could work in a touch screen device.

How plastics played a role in all these?

Initially, polymer adhesive acted as a support by etching the copper away.  Then PET film substrate assisted in roll to roll production of 30 inch grapheme film for transparent electrodes.  The advantages of graphene over ITO are numerous.  ITO is fragile and thus touch screen based on ITO has a finite lifetime.  On the other hand, the graphene production is very environmentally friendly than ITO production.

[Ref: S. Bae, H. Kim, Y. Lee, X. Xu, J-S. Park, Y. Zheng, J. Balakrishnan, T. Lei, H. Ri Kim, Y. Il Song, Y.-J Kim, K. S. Kim, B. Özyilmaz, J-H. Ahn, B. H. Hong and S. Iijima, Nature Nanotechnology, doi:10.1038/nnano.2010.132 Published online: 20 June 2010 ]

One of the ten Invention of the year 2010 award by Popular Science Magazine went to Integrity Engineering's Zoggles™ electronic predict-and-prevent anti-fog and anti-frost technology.

We all have encountered fog one way or the other.  Fog forms when warm water vapor hits a cooler object in the form of droplets.  The idea behind the invention is to sense the fog before it forms and prevent it from happening.  How Zoggles^TM works?

Tiny sensors measure the lens’s inner surface temperature.  Also, the temperature and humidity of the surrounding air between the lens and the face.  Simply, a chip calculates how close the lens is to the fog forming point and activates a mechanism to warm it up if necessary.  The goggles can keep the fog away in fog-prone conditions for at least eight hours.  Don A. Skomsky, and Valerie Palfy invented Zoggles^TM  technology and has been awarded three U.S. Utility Patents.  Weighing only 0.10 unces, ZogglesTM anti-fog and anti-frost technology has been claimed to maintain any object fog and ice free in environments down to -35° F. 

Potential applications for plastics: Windshields to eyeglasses to military to spacesuits.

[Ref:  Popular Science Magazine; June 2010, Also, Integrity Engineering press release: West Chester, PA - May 24, 2010 http://integrityengg.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=9&cntnt01origid=57&cntnt01returnid=65]

Water has been vital since the beginning of the civilization.  Drinking water shortage has prompted researchers to focus their attention to the desalination of water.  Polymers have been materials of choice for membrane research.

Researchers from Chemical Engineering Dept. of Yale University (Connecticut, USA) utilized interfacial polymerization to construct a polyamide active layer on the top of polysulfone support layer.  This support layer appears to look like finger-like and sponge-like structuer that is responsible for the high performance of the membrane.  The group compared this composite membrane with those of commercially available ones and found the results very promising.  Not only water fluxes exceeded expectations but also maintained salt rejection rate.

[Ref: N.Y. Yip, A. Tiraferri, W.A. Phillip, J. D. Schiffman, and M. Elimelech; Environ. Sci. Technol.; 44 (10), pp. 3812-3818 (2010)]

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is widely known for its electrical conductivity and optical transparency.  This is why ITO is favoured material for flexible electronics, solar cells, antistatic coatings, and EMI shieldings.  The issue with ITO, however, is the cost.

Now a group of researchers from Stanford University claim that conductive silver nanowire (Ag NW) electrodes could be an immediate ITO replacement for flexible electronics and solar cells. They reported that Ag NW electrodes provide 2- fold higher optical transmission than ITO in near-infrared wavelengths.  Addionally, Ag NW electrodes exhibit excellent robustness when subjected to bending.

[Ref: L. Hu, H.S. Kim, J-Y. Lee, P. Peumans and Y. Cui; ACS Nano, 4 (5), pp. 2955-2963 (2010)]

The primary issue in the high speed actuation application is the material design that works.  Shape memory polymers (SMPs) could provide the necessary matrix.  But to make it work in seconds requires proper design.

Prof. Mather’s team at Syracuse University, New York used non-woven carbon fibers (CNFs) into an epoxy based shape memory polymer matrix.  The idea is to fabricate a highly interconnected network which is supposed to facilitate a continuous flow electron between the CNFs.  By doing so, transfer of heat is enhanced resulting in a faster actuation speed. Nano-scale carbon fibers provided the large interfacial area for efficient heat transfer.

This work opens up application possibilities for polymer nanocomposites ranging from medical to automobile to aerospace.

[Reference: X. Luo, and P.T. Mather; Soft Matter, 6, pp. 2146-2149 (2010) ]

Conventional catalysts for making polymers/plastics are metal based.  Now, researchers from IBM and Stanford University are developing rival catalysts based on organic molecules.Their targets include new ring opening polymerization catalysts for cyclic monomers that provide a synthetic route for high molecular weight cyclic polyesters, which could be used for biomedical applications.

A research paper from these workers describes how polymer recycling and polymer degradation strategies could be incorporated to enable a "closed-loop" life cycle.  They have also developed a strategy that could work for recycling of widely used PET water bottles.  For instance a highly efficient N-heterocyclic carbene catalyst could replace the less effective metal alkoxide depolymerization catalysts.

[Refs: M.K. Kiesewetter, E.J. Shin, J.L. Hedrick and R.M. Waymouth;Macromolecules;43 (5), pp. 2093-2107 (2010) and J. Chemical Education; DOI: 10.1021/ed800152c Web publication date: March 23, 2010]

Researchers are relentlessly improving the power, life and safety of lithium-sulfur batteries, which are increasingly used as power sources for gadgets such as smart phones and notebook computers. Problems arise when unwanted reactions decompose the organic liquid electrolyte and foul the metallic lithium electrodes.

Scientists from the University of Rome have designed a novel way to construct a tin-sulfur-lithium-ion battery that has an energy density value of the order of 1000 kW h kg^-1, which is five times higher than those of conventional batteries.

How does this electrochemical process work?

The new lithium-metal-free cell uses a cathode made from a carbon/lithium sulfide composite. At the cathode, lithium sulfide is split into elemental sulfur and lithium ions. The design novelty is to replace the organic electrolyte solution with a lithium-ion-containing liquid enclosed in a polyethylene oxide/lithium trifluoromethane sulfonate gel membrane. The polymer membrane prevents the liquid from decomposing.  The lithium ions migrate through the electrolyte membrane to a tin/carbon nanocomposite anode, where they take up electrons to become uncharged lithium atoms. These are then bound into an alloy by the tin nanoparticles, minimizing the dissolution of the electrode components.  This new battery provides sufficient energy density to be considered as a possible power source for electric vehicles.

[Ref: J. Hassoun and B. Scrosati; Angewandte Chemie International Edition,  49 (13), pp. 2371-2374 (2010)]

We all know polymers or plastics are very good insulators for both electricity and heat. Plastics are known to have thermal conductivities on the order of 0.1 Wm^-1 K^-1. It is about time to change that understanding.

Prof. Chen's group at MIT has shown that polyethylene (PE), a commodity thermoplastic could be made highly conductive. The group fabricated high quality ultra-drawn PE nanofibers having diameter of 50 to 500 nm and lengths up to 10 mm and realized that thermal conductivity has increased to ~ 104 Wm^-1 K^-1. This value is the highest thermal conductivity seen in any polymer. The group attributed this attractive property to restructuring of polymer chains by stretching. However, this drawing process makes the plastic conduct heat very efficiently in just one direction while metals conduct heat in all directions. Perhaps that is why this work is creating a buzz in the scientific community. Now, one could use these ultradrawn nanofibers for applications to draw heat away from an object such as a computer processor chips, solar heat collectors or heat exchangers.

The main question is: could this invention be made cost effective to commercialize plastics with high thermal conductivity?

[Reference: S. Shen, A. henry, J. Tong, R. Zheng, and G. Chen; Nature Nanotechnology; doi:10.1038/nnano.2010.27 Published online: March 7, 2010]

There is lots of energy available from the motion of the human body that we are now learning to capture it, to generate power for medical implants, removing the need for batteries. Previous materials were either too rigid or too inefficient to be practical as pliable power generators. One approach to produce practical devices is being investigated by Yi Qi and Michael McAlpine of Princeton University.  They have have developed a way to soften up one of the most efficient piezoelectric materials known, crystal lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT), which is usually inflexible. But he and Qi found that when an extremely thin film of the ceramic is grown on a solid substrate and cut into strips about 5 micrometres thick, the resulting material can flex (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/pues-ers012710.php ). These "nanoribbons" are like fibre-optic cable made using glass, says McAlpine. Being long and thin, they can still bend despite being made of a material that is rigid in bulk. The strips were attached to conducting silicone rubber to produce a flexible sheet that converts motion to electricity about half as well as traditional, rigid PZT (Nano Letters, DOI: 10.1021/nl903377u).

Chieh Chang and Liwei Lin of the University of California at Berkeley took a different approach. They created piezoelectric fibres from PolyVinyliDine Fluoride (PVDF, a thermoplastic fluoropolymer also known as KYNAR®. The researchers spun this into fibres by drawing the molten material through a nozzle using a strong electric field, creating a material in which the charged domains were aligned, providing them with unique properties(Nano Letters, DOI: 10.1021/nl9040719). Various applications are being investigated, including medical devices and textiles that contain wearable electronics.

If you have attended 2010 Winter Olympic in Vancouver, Canada, you have seen them.  The look and feel of Vancouver 2010 winter games is partly due to the large format graphics (Huge stickers) that 3M has developed.  Stickers are composed of layer materials such as polymer films, adhesives, and ink.  They are everywhere decorating VANOC's buildings (the Richmond Olympic Oval and the Pacific Coliseum), numerous vehicles, buses, ice resurfacing machines etc.  Technology does not stop here.

Mannigton Commercial plans to recycle all these sticky graphics (trash) to flooring tiles (treasure).  It is estimated Mannigton will incorporate about 200,000 square feet of 3M's large format graphics from the 2010 winter games in Canada into Premium Flooring Tiles diverting it from the landfill sites.

[Ref: http://solutions.3mcanada.ca/wps/portal/3M/en_CA/Olympics/Home/ , Press Releases, Ontario, Feb. 18, 2010 and Mannigton Commercial, Calhoun, Georgia, Feb. 18, 2010] 

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) can be used in cell phones, cameras and ultra-thin TVs. The entire buzz about “organic” or “plastic” electronics is due to OLED.  But OLED has several drawbacks. It is expensive and the transparent electrode is made of inorganic (indium tin oxide) material that is hard to recycle.

 

Researchers from Sweden and USA utilized graphene to provide an alternative to OLED and termed it Light Emitting Electrochemical Cell (LEC) made of all organics (carbon based materials). Scientists touted that not only technologically this development is interesting but also important from environmental standpoint.

 

[Ref: N.D. Robinson et al ACS Nano; DOI: 10.1021 / nn9018569, Web publication date Feb. 04, 2010]

Rod Ruoff’s group from the University of Texas at Austin claimed first to have reported the formation of a stable suspension of graphene oxide in propylene carbonate. Furthermore, they have been able to reduce a significant amount of oxygen functional group by thermally treating the suspension at 150°C which resulted in an electrically conductive film.

 

Researchers expect the method to be an economical processing route for electrode materials for ultracapacitor applications. By constructing an ultracapacitor cell with the electrode made of this reduced graphene oxide, researchers showed that the cell could yield specific capacitance values greater than 120 F/g which could rival current commercial ultracapacitors.

 

[Ref: R.S. Ruoff et al. ACS Nano, DOI:10.1021/nn901689, Web publication date Jan. 29, 2010]

Researchers from Princeton University (USA) developed a scalable process for transferring crystalline piezoelectric smart nanothick ribbons of lead zirconate titanate (ceramic) from host substrates onto flexible silicone rubbers. Thus they created piezo-rubber chips. Silicone being biocompatible, this new electricity-harvesting stretchable devices could be implanted in the body. Authors believe that the excellent performance of the piezo-ribbon construction coupled with stretchable, biocompatible rubber could open up a host of exciting avenues in fundamental research and novel applications.

 

[Ref: Y. Qi, N.T. Jafferis, K. Lyons, Jr. C.M. Lee, H. Ahmad & M.C. McAlpine, Nano Letters DOI: 10.1021/nl903377u; Web publication date Jan. 26, 2010]

Pint glasses cause terrible injuries – no surprise there! Prototypes of non-shattering pint glasses design has been called revolutionary. Designed to be safer, “Glass Plus” is a pint glass that has a thin layer of transparent coating of bio-resin on the inside. The other design is called “Twin Wall” made by bonding 2 ultra-thin layers of glass together like a laminated car windscreens. The prototypes were produced by Design Bridge in UK.

Di Gao, a chemical and petroleum engineering professor at the university of Pittsburg Swanson School of Engineering, reports a nanoparticle-based coating that thwarts the build up of ice on solid surfaces and that can be easily applied.

His team treated aluminum plates with silicone resin solutions that had been combined with silica nanoparticles (20 nanometres to 20 micrometres in size). As described in Langmuir Letter, DOI: 10.1021 these plates not only were able deflect supercooled water (-20°C) in lab tests, but the team was also able to demonstrate the performance of coatings containing 50 nanometer particles that would not support ice build up in freezing rain where untreated parts of the surface became encrusted in ice.

Researchers from Uppsala University (Sweden) prepared a novel nanostructured high-surface-area electrode material that could be used for energy-storage applications.  This material is made of cellulose fibres extracted from Cladophora algae(collected at sea) coated with a 50 nm layer of polypyrrole.  Conductive polymers can be used in many applications such as electrochemically controlled ion-exchange membranes, energy storage devices, etc.  Current drawbacks however, are insufficient functional charging rates and the cycling stabilities for any practical applications.

This study reported that the composite conductive paper material have a specific surface area of 80 m² g^?1 and batteries based on this composite material can be charged with currents as high as 600 mA cm^?2 with only 6% loss in capacity over 100 subsequent charge and discharge cycles.  Seemingly, this material could as well be used in smart packaging and other paper-based products and textiles.  Indeed, quite a feat in the field polymer paper battery.

(Ref:  G. Nyström, A. Razaq, M. Strømme, L. Nyholm, A. Mihranyan Nano Letters, published in the web Sept. 09, 2009 DOI: 10.1021/nl901852h)

If any new technology could easily produce potable water from salty water, fresh water scarcity that is looming over our planet could be put on halt.  This is what NanoH₂O is aiming for its advanced thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane technology.

NanoH2O is advancing the work of Professor Eric Hoek of UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. Polymer membrane technology in the desalination process is not a new one. The problem however, is in the increased production of water.  Increased production means to achieve enhanced membrane permeability but this allows too much salt to escape.  The other issue is to stop bacteria to flourish in the membrane known as fouling.  Dr. Hoek developed a polymer nanocomposite membrane using zeolite nanoparticles dispersed in one of the 2 monomer solutions by the interfacial polymerization process.  The idea of introducing nanoparticles was to increase the water permeability (preventing the salty ions) while changing the surface membrane properties to avoid fouling.  The process is known as Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO).  Dr. Hoek went further by adding traces of silver onto the nanoparticles.  Silver compounds are well known for their antimicrobial properties.

NanoH2O’s TFN membrane is expected to increase the production from 6,000 to 7,500 gallons/day/8”membrane to 12,000 gallons/day.  Since the size and the shape of the TFN membrane would remain the same, desalination plants could retrofit the membranes conveniently.  
No wonder NanoH2O becomes a Global Cleantech 100 clean technology company.

(Ref: NanoH2O Press release; Los Angeles, California, September 9, 2009 www.nanoh2o.com)

To follow more on Prof. Hoek’s recent work, see references below:

E.M.V. Hoek et al., “Influence of Solute-Membrane Affinity on Rejection of Uncharged Organic Solutes by Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis Membranes,” Environmental Science & Technology 43 pp. 2400-2406 (2009).

E.M.V. Hoek et al., “Effect of Mobile Cation on Zeolite-Polyamide Thin Film Nanocomposite Membranes,” Journal of Materials Research 24, pp. 1624-1631 (2009).

A.K. Ghosh, and E.M.V. Hoek, “Impacts of Support Membrane Structure and Chemistry on Polyamide-Polysulfone Interfacial Composite Membranes,” Journal of Membrane Science 336, pp. 140–148 (2009).

E.M.V. Hoek et al., “Influence of Feed Water Temperature on Separation Performance and Organic Fouling of Brackish Water RO Membranes,” Desalination239, pp. 346-359 (2009).

E.M.V. Hoek et al., “Influence of Feed Water Temperature on Inorganic Fouling of Brackish Water RO Membranes,” Desalination 235, pp. 44–57 (2009).

When we go for an x-ray after a broken arm or a leg, we know x-ray will pass through the soft tissues and will show a clear image of our broken bone.  That was not the case for a molecule until now.  IBM researchers of Zurich research lab., Switzerland along with the scientists from Utrecht University, Netherlands managed to resolve the puzzle by using noncontact atomic force microscopy (known as AFM) to see the structure of pentacene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecule.

Researchers demonstrated imaging of molecules with unprecedented atomic resolution by probing the short range chemical forces.  Experimental findings were corroborated by ab initio density functional calculations.

Pentacene is an organic molecule consisting of 22 carbon atoms and 14 hydrogen atoms measuring 0.14 nm.  How about observing other interesting molecules such as graphene, carbon nano-tube, DNA etc.  Exciting time for the surface scientists!

(Ref: L. Gross, F. Mohn, N. Moll, P. Liljeroth, and G. Meyer, Science 325 (5944), pp. 1110-1114, 2009)

Non-toxic NUVADERM™ liquid bandage that utilizes poly(urea-urethane) liquid emulsion polymer provides a non-toxic, hydrophobic, elastomeric coating that gives a barrier against moisture and yet permeable to oxygen.  It’s an one component easily sprayed or could be applied by brush.  Once in contact with the air, the liquid bandage becomes solidand keeps moisture & dirt from entering the wound site.

(Ref: Press Release: August 05, 2009 Chesson Labs, NC, USA)

Prof. Jenekhe of Univ. of Washington in Seattle and Prof. Watson of Univ. of Kentucky in Lexington have developed a new ambipolar polymer that can perform faster in polymer circuit than those were made in the past.  This type of polymer is a not a new one.  However, researchers demonstrated the novelty in the speed at which charges move through a semiconductor by using a donor-acceptor type copolymer. The promise is a possible faster printable circuits.

Ref: F.S. Kim, X. Guo, M.D. Watson, & S.A. Jenekhe: Advanced Materials, Published online August 11, 2009

Federal German Printing Office(Bundesdruckerei GmbH) has developed a technology with Bayer MaterialScience AG's Innosec Fusion®,that can color-personalize high-security cards made of the polycarbonate films Makrofol® with a
photo and signature of the holder.  Innosec Fusion® process uses digital printing process that yields particularly high color brilliance.

This process is innovative since the color print image is created inside the card and cannot be tampered with without destroying the laminated film structure.  In other words, cards produced (ID cards & passports) using this process are difficult to counterfeit.
Until now, it has only been possible to apply black-and-white “print images” to the inside of polycarbonate cards using laser engraving.

(Ref: Press release, Leverkusen, July 29, 2009 Bayer MaterialScience AG)

Whether it is LED TV, or minimally invasive catheter, or anti-vibration protective work gloves, they all have one thing in common: the polymer resins.  Designers are continuing their creativity utilizing plastics.

(Ref: Plastics News, August 10, 2009)

Authors decribe using conductive thermoplastic/metal hybrid materials how some of the manufacturing steps could be integrated into the injection molding process.

(Ref: W. Michaeli, and T.G. Pfefferkorn; Polym. Eng. Sci.; 49 (8), pp. 1511–1524, 2009)

If you are a researcher in the field of polymer nanocomposites, you might wish to read this article by the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg researchers for reference.  How nanometer resolution could assist you to assess the fundamental and yet an accurate information of the polymer matrix morphology as well as the filler and the adhesion between them.

(Ref: R. Adhikari, and G.H. Michler; Polymer Reviews, 49 (3), pp. 141-180, 2009)

One could reduce the healthcare costs by cutting medical complications after an operation or by quickly healing the wounds.  The team of researchers from MIT tried to do just that by characterizing  interactions between one type of glue to tissues from rat’s heart, lung, liver, and dudenum.  The objective is to develop a platform of adhesive materials.

(Refs: N. Artzi, T. Shazly, A.B. Baker, A. Bon, E.R. Edelman; Advanced Materials Online 2 June 2009, E.A. Thompson, MIT News release July 9, 2009)

3D systems announced that its DuraForm® FR100 passes the flame, smoke, and toxicity tests for aircraft applications and has a UL 94 V-0 rating.  Applications could include aircraft parts such as cockpit and cabin composnents and direct manufacturing of parts for consumer products such as lighting, electronics and appliances.

(Ref: Press release June 24, 2009: www.3dsystems.com)

In the pursuit of a clean and an affordable power source, Prof. Adrian Kitai's group at McMaster University, Canada has developed a flexible solar cell technology which has the ability to bend the solar cells to fit the curved roof of a bus shelter.  In fact, a prototype for the bus shelter is located on the west side of University avenue between John Hodgins Engineering building and the Life Science Building in Toronto.

The flexibility comes from tiling a large number of small silicon elements into an array, and mounting them onto a flexible plastic sheet while connecting them via a proppietary method.  Each strip has 720 one centimeter square solar cells and generates upto 4.5 Watts of power.

More info available @ www.eng.mcmaster.ca/news/feature.html

At TECHTEXTIL 2009 in Frankfurt (June 16 - 18, 2009), Arkema is unveiling its 100% bio-sourced "green" technical polymers.  They are Rilsan PA 11, Pebax Rnew and Platamid Rnew.  The new Rilsan PA 11 is 100% biobased while keeping the unique set of properties such as soft touch, light weight, resistance to bacteria, wear, and abrasion. Pebax Rnew is the first engineering TPE made from renewable resources.  Likewise, Platmid Rnew is the first 100% biobased hotmelt adhesive.

(Ref: www.fibre2fashion.com)

In a recent artcle, researchers from Braskem S.A., and University of Campinas reviewed how the concept of biopolymers and bioplastics emerged, where these industrial developments are taking place, and what trends are expected in the near future.

(Ref: A. U.B. Queiroz and F.P. Collares-Queiroz, J. Macromolecular Sci., Part C: Polymer Reviews, 49, pp.65-78, 2009)

An effective way to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is through the plants.  Braskem S.A. is using sugarcane as feedstock to produce ethanol.  Production of ethylene through the catalytic dehydration of ethanol is the core of the technology.    This bio-based polyethylene not only provides an alternative to commodity plastics based on fossil feedstocks but also reduces carbon footprint.

(Ref: A. Morschbacker, J. Macromolecular Sci., Part C: Polymer Reviews, 49, pp.79-84, 2009)

Researchers from Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus (Ohio), analysed effects of filler size on crystallization rate and it’s content, effects of clarifiers and others on the final properties of the injection molded PLA parts.  Mr. Corey Linden presented the work in SPE’s GEPEC 2009 conference in Florida.

(Ref: C. Linden GEPEC 2009 Proceedings, Feb. 25 – 27, Orlando, Florida) 

Scientists from academics and OPV manufacturers including Konarka Technologies, Luna Innovations, Plextronics and Solarmer Energy met to discuss the challenges, such as lifetimes of OPV cells and their efficiency levels.  Intertech Pira organized the Organic Photovoltaics 2009 in Philadelphia, USA.

Conference summary is available at http://www.printedelectronicsnow.com/articles/2009/05/organic-photovoltaics-2009-examines-gains-in-opv-t

Neo-PLA fiber gets all the attention since it has high thermal resistance and can be processed by high pressure dyeing.  Industrial uses of neo-PLA such as in car sheets or textiles are on the rise.  This bio-based polymer could compete with poly(butylene terephthalate), an engineering plastics. A consortium of Japanese companies are developing neo-PLAs consisting of stereo-block PLA that would provide a wide range of properties not attainable with PLA only.

(Ref: M. Kakuta, M. Hirata, and Y. Kimura, J. Macromolecular Sci., Part C: Polymer Reviews, 49, pp.107-140, 2009) 

A group of scientists from Univ. of California (USA), Univ. of Laval (Canada), and South Korea reported fabrication of solar cells with 6% of power conversion effeciancy.  They have used alternating copolymer in bulk heterojunction composites with the fullrene derivative. This work of good engineering could provide the future direction of plastics solar cells.

(Ref: K. Lee, M. Leclerc, A.J. Heeger et al; Nature Photonics, pp. 297-302, 2009)

It is costly & challanging to separate aromatic hydrocarbons from aliphatic hydrocarbon mixtures. Researchers from Shanghai (China) made a porous 3D polymer using a flexible 1D polymer made from metal units attached to salen ligands, known as metallsalen.  The uniqueness of the polymer is that it could recognize the guest molecule through host-guest interactions and thereby separating aromatics with high selectivity from aliphatic mixtures.

The future lies not only separating hydrocarbon mixtures in the refining process but also to recycle the polymers without adsorption and losses.

(Ref: Y. Cui et al. Chemical Communications, pp. 2118 - 2120, 2009)

Univ. of California & Stanford Univ researchers developed unique capacitors by spraying a network of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) between two pieces of plastic and sandwitching a gel eletrolyte within them. SWCNTs served as both electrodes and charge collectors. This work provides the foundation for the bright future of printable charge storage device.

[Ref: Y. Cui, G. Gruner et al. Nano Letter, ASAP article, April 6, 2009]

Vitra, the Swiss furniture manufacturer, showcasing Vegetal in “Salone Internazionale del Mobile”, Milan, Italy.  Vegetal chair is a seat shell that looks like branches of different thicknesses woven together.  It is made of BASF’s plastic Miramid^® using Gas Injection technology (GIT) process. Specifically, the grade used B3EG3 GIT.  These are specially optimized for GIT and meet the high surface quality requirements & colorations for indoors and outdoors.  Six different colors are expected to be available by mid-2009.

(Ref: BASF news release, P-09-210, April 17, 2009)  

The self-assembling block copolymers could create an efficient way to fabricate ultra-high-density computer memory. 

University of Massachusetts at Amherst and University of Berkley (Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory), USA researchers found a way to coat  commercially available sapphire wafers to guiding the self-assembly of block copolymer microdomains into oriented arrays with quasi–long-range crystalline order over arbitrarily large wafer surfaces.  The approach discussed in their research paper is applicable to different substrates and block copolymers. This opens up a versatile route toward ultrahigh-density systems.

(Ref: S. Park, B Kim, S.W. Hong, U. Jeong, T. Xu, and T. P. Russell; Science, 323 (5917), pp. 1030 – 1033, 2009)

Graphene has been known since 2004 and they are easy to produce. Futhermore, graphene-based polymer composites benefit from graphene's excellent thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties.

Researchers at Rutgers University, USA have made a new form of semimiconducting thin-film material containing graphene and polystyrene (PS). Although graphene known to be a zero bandgap semiconductor, yet for the first time such composites have been shown to be semiconducting. The composite, made using ordinary plastic processing techniques, could be attractive for low-cost printed electronics applications.  The authors concluded in their paper, "The reported scheme for fabricating semiconducting composite thin films from graphene and a commodity plastic could be useful for low-cost, macroscale thin film electronics".

(Ref: G. Eda and M. Chhowalla; Nano Lett., 9 (2), pp 814-818, 2009)

CO2 as a raw material for polymer production, Norner Innovation embarked on an ambitious project with the support of Norwegian Resaerch Council.  Previously Prof. Coates group at Cornell Univ. had shown developing CO2 based polymers.

(Ref: www.norner.no)

Prof. Helmuth of Vienna University of Technology, Austria reported a novel layer-by-layer deposition/oxidation process for plastic transistors that could open up new vista for plastics electronics

(Ref: H. Hoffmann, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Published on-line Feb. 6, 2009).

Collagen is a versatile biomaterial and can reproduce the morphology of natural bone.  The problem is the poor structural consistency in the wet conditions. For the first time, a Spanish group of researchers led by Dr. Jose M. Lagaron used several cross-linking agents as potential alternatives in electrospun collagen nanofibers to avoid the poor water resistance on natural collagen

(Ref: Sergio Torres-Giner et al., ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 1 (1), pp. 218 – 223, 2009). 

Unidym is a startup based in Menlo Park, California and has extensive knowledge in developing and marketing carbon nanotube (CNT) based materials for electronics industry. Lately they have been developing CNT-based transparent conductive films for the touch panel, display, and solar industries.  Primarily to replace the brittle and expensive indium tin oxide (ITO) coated films.  Another benefit as a high transparency anti-static film for the display industry is to reduce yield loss associated with electrostatic discharge and particles.

(Ref: www.unidym.com)

Plastic Logic reveals 150 ppi SVGA flexible active-matrix display technology in Frankfurt

(Plastic Electronic 2006, Frankfurt, Germany)