Slashdot Mirror
New Take on Self-Healing Polymer Could Mean Scratch-Free Screens
techprophet writes to mention that a new take on self-healing plastic could provide a long-term solution to scratched screens. The new polymer, developed by scientists at the University of Southern Mississippi, uses UV light to reform bonds between molecules rather than embedded healing agents of similar systems. "At the core of their design is polyurethane, which is an elastic polymer that already has decent scratch resistance. To enhance its ability to withstand mechanical damage, Ghosh and Urban added two more components, OXE and CHI. OXE has an unstable chemical structure (a four-membered ring containing three carbons and one oxygen) that makes it prone to being split open. CHI is UV sensitive. The idea is that, if the polyurethane gets damaged by a scratch, the unstable ring structure of OXE will open to create two reactive ends. Then, UV light can trigger CHI to form new links with the reactive ends of OXE and thereby fix the break in the polymer."
im sure most people imagine large gashes closing themselves perfectly a-la movie style regeneration, but a little common sense says that is probably a bit beyond this techs capabilities. What size scratch can it really 'heal', and in what time frame?
It's a bit hard to believe they've never tried this though, just to see what happens. So, this comes down to "more funding plz"?
Seeing as the scratches the technology currently fixes are only a few micrometres in size, it's probably more an issue of it being extremely difficult to place another scratch at exactly the same place as a previously healed one.
--- Mr. DOS
Am I the only one that finds a url ending in scratches.ars friggen hilarious while perusing slashdot minutes before my Friday escape from the office?! :D