Breakthrough in 2-D polymerization yields ultra-strong, lightweight material

ISN-affiliated MIT faculty member Michael Strano, working with a team including DEVCOM ARL researchers, has developed a novel polymerization process through which a material as strong as steel and as light as plastic self-assembles into two dimensional sheets. The material, in which monomers align and lock together tightly like LEGOs, is also impermeable to gases, and may one day be used in a wide variety of applications from protective coatings and barrier membranes for the electronic and automotive industries to structural reinforcements for civil engineering applications.
A circular design with dots next to an cartoon of a cell phone, a car, and a building, showcasing a new lightweight polymer film meant for long-lasting applications

The new material is a two-dimensional polymer that self-assembles into sheets and could be used as a lightweight, durable coating for car parts or cell phones, or as a building material for bridges or other structures. Image: polymer film courtesy of the researchers; Christine Daniloff, MIT

A collection of images depicting nanofilms, thickness plots, and SEM images of 2DPA-1 films.

Characterization of 2DPA-1 nanofilms — a, Plot of nanofilm thickness against solution concentration of spin-coating. b, Transferred 2DPA-1 films across 30-μm holes. c, A five-layer film stack on a SiO2/Si wafer. d, A 7-nm thick transferred film on a 6-inch (150 mm) wide SiO2/Si wafer. e, Cracks, wrinkles and folds are observed at the film edge of d. The height profile of line 1 is shown in the inset. f, SEM images of a suspended 2DPA-1 film on an Si3N4 TEM grid. Inset, a cross-sectional view of a hole after focused ion beam (FIB) cutting. Scale bars are 30 μm (b), 5 mm (c), 5 cm (d), 1 μm (e) and 10 μm and 1 μm (f and inset, respectively). Image: Zeng, Y., Gordiichuk, P., Ichihara, T. et al. Irreversible synthesis of an ultrastrong two-dimensional polymeric material. Nature 602, 91–95 (2022).