2010年1月21日木曜日

Eco-friendly material may replace plastics

A group of researchers in Japan has developed a new eco-friendly material that is made almost entirely of water.

The group, led by Professor Takuzo Aida of The University of Tokyo, says the newly developed "Aqua Material" is 95-percent water with 2 percent clay and other organic substances. The group says the transparent and flexible material can be easily made by mixing the ingredients in a machine for only 3 seconds.

The group explains that under this new method, water is solidified since its molecules penetrate through layers of clay that are connected firmly by the organic substances.
The group says the new material is 50 times more resilient than other similar materials that have been recently developed.

The group says there are high expectations for utilizing the material as surgical adhesives and for other medical purposes since it is eco-friendly and safe to be used in the human body.

The group says the material may also replace petrochemical plastics if its resilience is heightened.

Professor Aida says his group hopes to promote the wider use of environmentally-friendly materials.

The research results will be reported in the British science journal Nature on Thursday.

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