Researchers at the MIT have claimed to develop a new kind of fabric that mimics the stretchy and strong properties of spider silk.
Such fibers can be used in making fuel-cell cells, medical devices and military products.
The material is known as polymeric nanocomposites and can be used to manufacture tear resistant and ultra strong fabrics.
The research was funded by the U.S. Military who are interested in such materials for a wide range of applications such as tear resistant films and body armor fabrics.
Other companies who were attempting similar research always faced a problem that the fabric when made stretchy lost all its strength and when made strong was not flexible. But the MIT researchers learned that the secret lies in the arrangement of Nano-crystalline reinforcement of the fabric.
MIT researchers started with tiny clay disks about 1-nm in diameter which are arranged in stacks. When these disks are put in a solvent the chips come apart.
The researchers developed a process to embed these clay chips in a rubbery polymer by first dissolving them in water, then slowly exchanging water for a solvent that also dissolves polyurethane. They then dissolved the polymer in the new mixture, and finally removed the solvent.
After the whole process the result is a nanocomposite of stiff clay particles that are dispersed a stretchy matrix, which becomes strong without loosing its flexibility.
Via: eetimes
