A study published on the 9th by Nature magazine revealed that researchers in the United States have proposed a new method for solidification of high-molecular polymers, which is expected to significantly reduce the energy consumption and cost of strong, light-weight materials for aircraft and automobile manufacturing. Business benefits.
The paper's lead author, Scott White, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said that taking aircraft manufacturing as an example, the curing process of large passenger aircraft parts takes 24 hours and is completed at a temperature of about 180 degrees Celsius. A series of reactions can consume more than 96,000 kWh and generate more than 80 tons of carbon dioxide. The new method can reduce energy consumption by 10 orders of magnitude compared with traditional preparation processes, and it takes 2 orders of magnitude less time.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that using a heat source similar to a 'ironing iron' to touch a corner of the surface of a material can initiate a cascade reaction. Once the reaction is turned on, the internal energy in the polymerization reaction can be promoted. The reaction, does not require more external energy can make the material 'cure'. Curing is the process of the material from low molecular to polymer.
The researchers also tried to initiate the cascade reaction from both corners at the same time in order to speed up the reaction. The results showed that as long as the control is in place, the junction will not form a thermal peak affecting the material quality.
At present, the research team can safely prepare high-quality polymer materials in a laboratory environment. Because this technology is compatible with currently used manufacturing processes, it is expected to be used for large-scale production in the future.