Caltech Engineers Have Developed an Unusually Tough New Material
27th March 2023
Caltech engineers have made a significant breakthrough in the field of nano- and micro-architected materials by creating a novel material composed of multiple interconnected microscale knots.
Compared to structurally identical but unknotted materials, the presence of knots in this new material significantly enhances its toughness by enabling it to absorb more energy and deform more before returning to its original shape without any damage. These new knotted materials may find applications in biomedicine as well as in aerospace applications due to their durability, possible biocompatibility, and extreme deformability.