Scientists have created a new kind of paper that can adjust its hardness in response to electric current

Scientists from Germany have developed a new thin material that is able to transition from a hard to a soft state due to the action of an electric current. I want to tell you about this unusual invention today.

How did you create electrically active paper?

The new material was created by an engineering team from the University of Johannes Gutenberg (Mainz) and the University of Freiburg. So, the scientists used cellulose nanofibrils as a basis.

This material can be extracted from the cell walls of trees, and since it is significantly thinner than microfiber, which used to create ordinary paper, scientists have obtained completely transparent, glass-like paper, but at the same time tough and durable.

After that, the scientists exposed the resulting "nanopaper" to an electric current. And it turned out that the higher the voltage was applied to the nanopaper, the softer the material under study became. This was explained by the destruction of the crosslinking points in the material at the molecular level.

But the most surprising thing is that the process turned out to be completely reversible. As soon as the scientists turned off the voltage, the material became solid again.

According to Professor A. Walter, this material behavior is incredible. After all, almost all the materials that surround us are not very changeable and are extremely reluctant to move from rigid states to elastic ones. And in a specific experiment, this can be achieved with just one click of a toggle switch.

What are the prospects of the new material

Any discovery must be beneficial. So it is in this case. Scientists suggest that their new kind of electrically controlled paper could be used in the form of adaptive damping materials that begin to harden under the influence of large loads.

At this stage, scientists continue to work to improve the adaptive material. They set out to create a version with their own on-board energy storage. This will allow reactions to be triggered from within, without external control.

The scientists shared the results of the work done on the pages of the Internet portal Nature Communications.

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