Scientists from Northwestern, Duke and Cornell (United States) universities are not lacking in ideas to push the limits of materials. This time, they were inspired by the good old cottage of meshes, but by miniaturizing the concept on a molecular scale. The result? A material called 2D MIM, for “mechanically nested two -dimensional material”.
A structure that imitates the cottage on a nano scale
But what does that mean? Basically, they managed to assemble molecules by nesting them like the links of a chain, thus creating ultra -resistant leaves. Each square centimeter of this material contains approximately 100,000 billion chemical bonds! In other words, it is extremely solid.
To make these leaves, the researchers used X -shaped molecules that they organized in crystals. These crystals allow the ends of the molecules to attach to each other. Once the process is finished, they dissolve the crystals to keep only the nested leaves. It’s a bit like weaving a canvas, then remove the frame: only the structure remains.
William Dichtel, chemist at Northwestern University, explains: ” This material works like a coat of meshes. It does not tear itself easily because the links can move a little to distribute the forces. If you really want to break it, you will have to break billions of connections. »
The researchers did not stop there. They wanted to see how their material would behave in existing products. They chose a very robust plastic called Ultm, already used in industrial applications. By mixing 2.5 % of 2D MIM with this plastic fiber, they obtained impressive results: the force necessary to deform the ULTEM increased by 45 %; The material could bear 22 % additional stress before giving in.
-Even if these results are still preliminary, they show that 2D MIM could considerably improve the performance of composite materials, especially for bulletproof vests or protective equipment. What is particularly interesting is that these 2D MIM layers remain very thin. “” They can be manipulated almost like paper sheets », Ajoute William Dichtel.
This project, partly funded by the American agency DARPA dedicated to advanced defense technologies, opens the way to sacred innovations. Of course, there remains a lot to do: analyze the properties of the material, test its sustainability and imagine concrete applications. But the first results seem to indicate quite clearly that one is in front of a significant advance in the science of materials.
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