0

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

While this is one example of how self-healing materials will be useful there are millions more use cases.

 

Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog.

If the world is free of flat tires a couple decades from now, you may have researchers from the Harvard University to thank for it. However, that said, as flying taxi’s take to the air and companies like Goodyear re-imagine tyres altogether with concepts such as their tilt-rotor tyres for flying taxis, who knows if we’ll need tyres at all? In Harvard’s case though they’ve developed a new type of self-healing rubber that, in addition to being as tough as existing rubber, has the added benefit of being able to fully heal itself in the event that it gets a puncture, and even better, when we combine the new technology with self-healing asphalt we could also have roads that heal their own potholes. See, even the most mundane things aren’t immune to disruption in the future… and as for those other use cases I mentioned? Well, what about trainers or shoes that heal themselves? And so on…

 

RELATED
New patent shows Microsoft wants to resurrect you as a chatbot

 

“We have a made a new type of rubber with an exceptional combination of toughness and self-healing ability,” said Liheng Cai, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard. “We did so by developing a new way to mix two intrinsically immiscible bonds, reversible and covalent bonds, in a dry rubber.”

“Unlike conventional methods relying on co-solvents to promote mixing, we use molecules to physically tie these two types of bonds together, such that they are forced to mix at the molecular level. This enables a dry rubber that contains both reversible hydrogen bonds and permanent covalent crosslinks. The reversible bonds break and reform to enable self-healing ability, whereas the covalent bonds maintain the material integrity under large deformation. Consequently, the rubber is not only very tough as natural rubber, but also can self-heal upon damage.”

 

RELATED
An AI just invented a new enzyme that breaks down plastics in weeks

 

While this isn’t, by any means, the first example of a self-healing material, the research is significant due to the challenge of engineering self-healing properties in dry materials, such as rubber.

Unpuncturable tires alone would be a good enough application to justify the new material’s creation, but Cai said that there are also other potential uses the new form of rubber could be applied to. These include damping materials, materials for flexible electronics, and, because the material behind the innovation is additionally transparent, it could also be used to create protective coatings for optical devices and electronics.

 

RELATED
The internet pioneer behind Apache pushes blockchain to fuel the next big internet revolution

 

“Next we want to make this material 3D printable, such that we can harness 3D printing technologies to transform the material into more complex architectures with more functions,” Cai continued. “Harvard’s Office of Technology Development has filed a patent application for the technology, and is actively seeking commercialisation opportunities.”

A paper describing the research was published in the journal Advanced Materials.

About author

Matthew Griffin

Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working between the dates of 2020 to 2070, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series. Regularly featured in the global media, including AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, RT, Viacom, and WIRED, Matthew’s ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of revolutionary emerging technologies on global culture, industry and society, is unparalleled. Recognised for the past six years as one of the world’s foremost futurists, innovation and strategy experts Matthew is an international speaker who helps governments, investors, multi-nationals and regulators around the world envision, build and lead an inclusive, sustainable future. A rare talent Matthew’s recent work includes mentoring Lunar XPrize teams, re-envisioning global education and training with the G20, and helping the world’s largest organisations envision and ideate the future of their products and services, industries, and countries. Matthew's clients include three Prime Ministers and several governments, including the G7, Accenture, Aon, Bain & Co, BCG, Credit Suisse, Dell EMC, Dentons, Deloitte, E&Y, GEMS, Huawei, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Lego, McKinsey, PWC, Qualcomm, SAP, Samsung, Sopra Steria, T-Mobile, and many more.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *