Researchers at Rice University have devised a novel, flexible, self-adaptive composite (SAC), biomimetic material that is capable of re-assuming its original form and healing itself. Published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, the study describes the production and characteristics of SAC, which is composed of a mixture of two polymers and a solvent.
Evaporation of the solvent in the presence of heat results in the formation of a flexible matrix of sticky, tiny rubber spheres. The spheres are made of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and are coated by viscous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).
