Future of Polymers

Researchers are experimenting with many different types of polymers, aiming to further medicine development and enhance products we already use. 

For example, carbon polymers are being developed and enhanced for the automotive industry. 

"Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites — also called carbon-fiber laminates — are the next-generation materials for making cars lighter, more fuel efficient and safer," according to a 2016 Live Science column by Nikhil Gupta, an associate professor, and Steven Zeltmann, a student researcher, both in the Composite Materials and Mechanics Laboratory of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at New York University Tandon School of Engineering. "Carbon laminate is extremely strong and stiff because of its woven layers of nearly pure carbon fibers bonded together by a hardened plastic, such as epoxy resin."

Polymers are also being used to enhance holograms. Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania created a hologram on flexible polymer material called PDMA that was embedded with gold nanorods, according to a study published online in early 2017 in the journal Nano Letters. This new hologram device can hold several images instead of just one. 

"The question we asked is, 'Can we encode multiple bits of information in a hologram?'" Ritesh Agarwal, research leader and professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, told Live Science. "It's an important piece of work, because it's the first time someone's shown you can record multiple holographic images, and by just stretching the polymer, you can basically change the image."

Artificial skin made of a silicone polymer may be the future of anti-aging efforts. In the form of two creams, the polymer may be able to tighten a person's skin, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and diminish under-eye bags, according to a study published.

May 2016 in the journal Nature Materials. Such artificial skin may also be used to help those with skin conditions, such as eczema, or be used as sun block. 

"We are excited about it; it is a brand-new material," study co-author Robert Langer, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told Live Science.

By livesciences.com