Jan 19, 2023
New ‘chain mail’ material of interlocking molecules is tough, flexible and easy to make
Posted by Kelvin Dafiaghor in categories: chemistry, nanotechnology
University of California, Berkeley, chemists have created a new type of material from millions of identical, interlocking molecules, that for the first time allows the synthesis of extensive 2D or 3D structures that are flexible, strong and resilient, like the chain mail that protected medieval knights.
The material, called an infinite catenane, can be synthesized in a single chemical step.