Innovative Materials in Everyday Products

Next time you are using your computer, smartphone, or even just cracking open a soda, take a moment to appreciate the super innovative materials making those ordinary products possible. Advanced materials science has completely transformed mundane, everyday items into engineering marvels.

Fantastic Plastic Polymers

Many modern plastics are true Renaissance materials, molecularly engineered to have incredible properties once thought impossible for polymers.

Take something like PDMS silicone elastomers; these are flexible like rubber but can also repel water, resist extreme heat, and insulate electricity better than most plastics. From cellphones to sporting goods, you’ll find this wonder-material everywhere.

And then there are liquid crystal polymers that chemists can arrange into an ordered molecular structure during manufacturing. The result is a super-tough, heat-resistant plastic perfect for precision components in products like computers and TVs.

Glass That’s Smarter Than It Looks

That smartphone screen you incessantly swipe and tap? Thank chemically strengthened alkali-aluminosilicate glass for keeping it scratch-free. This special glass uses ion-exchange processes to create a tough, compressive surface layer.

And building architects rely on advanced glazing like low-emittance glass to control heating and cooling. Invisible metal oxide coatings on the surface can reflect specific wavelengths of light to insulate better and reduce energy costs.

The Future Is Lightweight

You’d think making things lighter would mean sacrificing strength and durability. But according to the folk at Axiom Materials, smart material design using foams, lattices, and film adhesives allows for the creation of remarkably lightweight yet robust components.

Nomex aramid honeycomb cores give products like aircraft interiors huge structural strength at a fraction of the weight of aluminum. Closed-cell polymer foams serve as lightweight insulation and buoyancy on boats. Even common products like tennis rackets use innovative film adhesives to bond lightweight composite layers into an ultra-strong shape.

Slicker, Safer, Smarter Coatings

Sometimes the real innovation lies not in the primary material, but in the additional coatings that provide extra abilities. Non-stick cookware relies on polymer coatings like PTFE to make it nearly impossible for food to cling. Clear oleophobic coatings on smartphone screens resist fingerprint smudges and waterproof fabric coatings let outdoor apparel laugh at any downpour.

Even cardboard boxes get in on the action with specialized polymer finishes, providing water resistance and reinforced strength. These microscopic layers and surface treatments make ordinary materials extraordinary.

Super-Engineering on the Nano Level

Modern materials science has progressed to where scientists can precisely engineer substances from the nano-level up for unique, hyper-tuned properties. Products like rechargeable batteries, radiation shielding, and chemical sensors all take advantage of nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes and aerogels.

Take, for example, thermal insulation aerogels based on silica nanoparticles; their highly porous structure makes them incredibly lightweight yet effective insulators. At the opposite extreme, carbon nanotube arrays allow for conductive paths and reinforcements that are just one or two atoms thick.

The Future on Our Doorstep

Although we already have access to amazing materials, the forefront of materials science seems like something out of a science fiction book. Self-healing polymers that automatically repair themselves after damage; printed graphene circuits and components; meta-materials that can manipulate light and electromagnetic waves; smart fabrics that can regulate temperature, filter air, and monitor biometrics.

As these latest innovations make their way into commercial use, brace yourself for mind-bending changes to the humble everyday items we take for granted. Something as basic as a t-shirt or plastic container may soon become an ultra-smart, hyper-engineered product once thought impossible.

Conclusion

Materials science never ceases to surprise and redefine what’s possible for the products we use daily. From polymers to coatings and beyond, the cutting-edge is always undergoing a transformation into the common and conventional. The future is innovative.