We have completed maintenance on DiscoverMagazine.com and action may be required on your account. Learn More

New Skin? A Plastic That Heals Itself, Conducts Electricity, and is Sensitive To Touch

80beats
By Ashley P. Taylor
Nov 14, 2012 2:43 AMNov 20, 2019 3:51 AM

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

Skin is a material with astonishing capabilities: the flexible, waterproof layer constantly regenerates itself, heals itself after scratches and cuts, and, through its nerves, conducts electricity, relaying the sense of touch to the brain. Engineers have long been trying to come up with a synthetic polymer that does all those things, and does them under standard conditions rather than the carefully calibrated set-up of a lab. Now engineers have created a polymer with a combination of skin's most elusive attributes that no polymer had achieved before: This new material, reported in Nature Nanotechnology

, can conduct electricity and, when it is sliced open with a razor, can heal itself at room temperature. The material can come back together thanks to the hydrogen bonds

, which break and reform easily and reversibly, connecting its molecules. Due to the addition of nickel particles, it can also conduct electricity. The researchers found that after the material was cut open, it regained 90 percent of its electrical conductivity within 15 seconds. What's more, the material's electrical resistance changes in response to pressure---giving this synthetic skin what is, essentially, a sense of touch. The material may eventually be used to make touch-sensitive prosthetic limbs. Meanwhile, the resilient, conductive material should aid in the development of better on-skin electronic devices

, such as wearable heart-rate monitors.

Photo courtesy of L.A. Cicero/Stanford News Service

1 free article left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

1 free articleSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

More From Discover
Recommendations From Our Store
Shop Now
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2024 Kalmbach Media Co.