What happens when a scientific problem seems too complex to solve precisely, yet understanding it could reshape how researchers design new materials and medicines? For decades, much of the polymer ...

Entropy gets a bad rap. Typically associated with randomness and chaos, it can also correlate with freedom and diversity.

A new polymer removes biofilms—mats of microbes and their exuded substances—by mimicking a fluid oozed by barnacles (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c09311). The material could provide a ...

Researchers create 'living' polymers that grow, degrow, and reprogram their properties after fabrication using reversible chemistry and light-activated catalysts. (Nanowerk Spotlight) A salamander can ...

Researchers' new polymer strategy shifts a centuries-old engineering paradigm with a molecular design that doesn't sacrifice stretchability for stiffness. Researchers at the University of Virginia ...

Illinois professor Ying Diao led a multi-institutional study that positions synthetic polymers as a potential alternative to expensive, unsustainable minerals for use in semiconductors and other ...

The photo shows Dr. Qi Zhang and Prof. Dr. Ben Feringa in front of Shanghai Tower, which five years ago inspired a project to create a dynamical helical polymer, that can also be recycled into its ...

The sources of natural polymers can be plant-based, animal-based, and marine-derived. For instance, plant-based polymers like cellulose are widely used in paper and textile industries for their ...