MIT chemical engineers have created 2DPA-1, an innovative new material that is as light as plastic yet stronger than steel and can be easily manufactured in large quantities. What is it? Simply put as possible, it’s a two-dimensional polymer that self-assembles into sheets, which up until now, was thought of as impossible. This material can be used as a durable coating for automotive parts / electronic devices or as a building material.
A new polymerization process let the engineers generate a two-dimensional sheet called a polyaramide, and since the material self-assembles in solution, it can be made in large quantities by just increasing the quantity of the starting materials. More importantly, the team realized they could successfully coat surfaces with films of the material.
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We don’t usually think of plastics as being something that you could use to support a building, but with this material, you can enable new things. It has very unusual properties and we’re very excited about that,” said Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and the senior author of the new study.
