Imagine trying to design machines that will last forever, regardless of use or destination. Instead of those machines requiring a steady stream of spare parts (essentially impossible for space probes ...

Polymers are complex materials with flexible forms, widely varied compositions, and properties that change as the polymers interact with their environment over time. Structurally, polymers are large ...

Polymer matrix composites (PMCs) are made by reinforcing a polymer-based matrix with glass, carbon, or aramid fibers. PMCs are classified into thermosetting and thermoplastic resins based on the type ...

Left to right: Postdoctoral researcher Zhenchuang Xu, postdoctoral researcher Yuting Zhou, and chemistry professor Jeffrey S. Moore. Source | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign To avoid their ...

Researchers have developed a multilevel dispersion strategy that synergistically combines in situ confined growth, ultrasonication, atomization, and rotational shearing to incorporate ...

As explained in my 2023 feature on ceramic matrix composites (CMC), the market for these high-temperature materials is growing. While technical ceramics are resistant to high temperatures (up to ...

Most polymers don’t mix—and that’s the point. Polymer alloys succeed by engineering the interface: use thermodynamics to predict separation, processing to sculpt morphology, and compatibilizers to ...

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of ...