The development of plastic technology is changing with each passing day. The development of new materials for new applications, the improvement of the performance of the existing material market, and the improvement of the performance of special applications can be described as several important directions of new material development and application innovation. In addition, environmental protection and degradability have become a highlight of new plastics.
What are the new materials?
Bioplastics: Nippon Electric has newly developed bioplastics based on plants, whose thermal conductivity is comparable to that of stainless steel. The company mixed carbon fibers with a length of several millimeters and a diameter of 0.01 millimeters and a special adhesive into the polylactic acid resin made of corn to produce a new type of bioplastic with high thermal conductivity. If 10% carbon fiber is mixed in, the thermal conductivity of bioplastic is comparable to that of stainless steel; when 30% carbon fiber is added, the thermal conductivity of bioplastic is twice that of stainless steel, and the density is only 1/5 of that of stainless steel.
However, the research and development of bioplastics is limited to the fields of bio-based raw materials or bio-monomers or polymers produced by microbial fermentation. With the expansion of the bio-ethanol and bio-diesel markets in recent years, bio-ethanol and glycerol are used as raw materials for production. The technology of bioplastics has received a lot of attention and has been commercialized.
New plastic color-changing plastic film: The University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and the Darmstadt Institute for Plastics in Germany have jointly developed a color-changing plastic film. Combining natural and artificial optical effects, the film is actually a new way of making objects precisely change color. This color-changing plastic film is a plastic opal film, which is composed of plastic spheres stacked in three-dimensional space, and also contains tiny carbon nanoparticles in the middle of the plastic spheres, so that light is not only between the plastic spheres and surrounding substances. reflections from the edge regions between these plastic spheres, but also from the surface of the carbon nanoparticles that fill in between these plastic spheres. This greatly deepens the color of the film. By controlling the volume of the plastic spheres, it is possible to produce light substances that scatter only certain spectral frequencies.
New plastic plastic blood: Researchers at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom have developed an artificial “plastic blood” that looks like a thick paste. As long as it is dissolved in water, it can be transfused to patients, which can be used as blood in emergency procedures. alternatives. This new type of artificial blood is made of plastic molecules. There are millions of plastic molecules in a piece of artificial blood. These molecules are similar in size and shape to hemoglobin molecules. They can also carry iron atoms, which transport oxygen throughout the body like hemoglobin. Since the raw material is plastic, the artificial blood is light and easy to carry, does not need to be refrigerated, has a long validity period, has higher work efficiency than real artificial blood, and is less expensive to manufacture.
With the rapid development of science and technology, new plastics continue to appear. The insulating properties, heat resistance and fire resistance of some high-end engineering plastics and compounds are more valuable. In addition, environmental protection and degradability have become a highlight of new plastics.
Post time: Feb-25-2022
