New Plastic Bleeds Red When Scratched, Then Heals Itself Like Skin

By Rebecca Boyle Posted 03.26.2012 at 4:30 pm 9 Comments

Broken Plastic Joybot

Self-healing materials will eventually fix anything from cell phone screens to car fenders, enabling surfaces to heal on their own in the presence of different types of light. But none of the earlier prototypes we’ve seen work quite like this new plastic: It bleeds red at the site of injury. Then it heals itself, inspired by the properties of tree trunks and human skin.

Marek W. Urban from the University of Southern Mississippi presented a paper on his new co-polymer at the American Chemical Society’s national meeting in San Diego Monday. When it scratches or tears, a red splotch forms around the “wound,” marking the site.

Development of self-healing substances is one of the biggest current research areas in materials science, and we’ve seen a variety of approaches in these pages. Some would seed plastic or metal materials with capsules that break open when damage occurs, while others would stimulate plastics to re-grow chemical bonds using heat or light. This one works in a variety of situations — in the presence of sunlight, visible light from a light bulb, in pH changes or in different temperatures.

Urban’s plastic is made from water-based copolymers, which are more environmentally friendly than other polymers. They contain a type of molecular link that serves as a bridge in the polymer chain. When the plastic is scratched, cut or cracked, these bridges break. Urban’s breakthrough was to design bridges that produce a visible color change — in this case, a red blotch. The copolymer would work as a thin coating on top of other layers of plastic or other material, he said.

Unlike other self-healing materials, this plastic’s healing process can work over and over, he added. It could serve a variety of purposes, from things like nail polish to self-healing car fenders to airplanes. It would improve safety by drawing attention to a structural defect, and it could repair minor defects in the presence of intense light.

“Where degradation occurs or [there is] mechanical damage, the color would start to change,” Urban said.

The Defense Department funded part of his work.

Previous Article: Video: At 800 Pounds and 45 Feet Long, The Largest-Ever Paper Airplane Takes Flight

Next Article: Video: The First Footage from James Cameron's Record-Setting Dive to Challenger Deep

9 Comments

Link to this comment

pdolan7

03/26/12 at 7:13 pm

no video?

Link to this comment

Ardent Ward

03/26/12 at 7:25 pm

Has anyone ever seen the old Roswell movie where he scratches the metal and it repairs its self? This is awesome.

Link to this comment

Robot

03/26/12 at 9:26 pm

Cute me, if I bleed, are I not alive. I beseach the, help me to live! I am robot, I am alive!

.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.
Open your mind and see!

Link to this comment

KImbo Y. Laurel

03/27/12 at 8:18 am

Creepy. It is starting point that non-living seems so living. I bet in the future that we make the robots bleed.

Link to this comment

Cookiees453

03/27/12 at 9:18 am

once a month...

Link to this comment

Dublin992233

03/27/12 at 10:51 am

They have a fuel tank that has self healing properties - it can take a few bullets and then reseal the opening. It's also able to slow the bullet literally leaving it in the bottom of the tank for recovery later. This is more like the BSG spaceship model. Certainly makes sense. Although that orange light is probably beyond repair. A cracked light though makes sense. I would imagine lots of tail lights on cars wouldn't fail as quickly with this type of improvement. Tack on ships that can shed barnacles and then repair the steel...lots of neat ops for this. Also aren't space craft being bombarded constantly by super small particles that leave holes in the ship? Same concept could help astronauts know if there's a problem and if they need to pay closer attention to a leak.

Link to this comment

Baaron

03/27/12 at 5:08 pm

definatly want this for any plumbing or inflatables, im so sick of finding leaks and my inflatabel hot tub becoming deflated

Link to this comment

JediMindset

03/27/12 at 5:24 pm

this remind me of battlestar galactica. the cylons ships have a material that bleeds when shot at.

"religion is like a prison for the seekers of wisdom"

-Killah Priest

Link to this comment

ejohnsok

03/28/12 at 1:15 am

It is incredible what science can accomplish. Think of all the dropped smartphones, scratched lenses, wrecked cars, damaged laptops, and cracked iPods! And come on, fail-proof nail polish? Can someone get these guys the Albert Einstein World Award of Science?! The whole 'bleeding-effect' was a nice added touch too. Just amazing.

Popular Tags

Technology

All Tags All Photos All Videos

Technology

+ More Photo Galleries

June 2013: American Energy Independence

Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.