Amazing and Sometimes Unknown Materials
Unknown to many people these materials offer many advantages over traditional materials including less waste, more strength, carbon reduction, and more, on this, the most comprehensive list of its kind.
“Besides the many hours of fun, Silly Putty can be used to remove dirt, lint, pet hair, and ink from surfaces, as well as masking when spray painting, and in lapping of lenses and mirrors.”

Perhaps you’re looking for materials for a new project, but have no idea where to begin searching. The following is a list of amazing materials you might not know existed along with some of their uses. Some man-made and others naturally occurring, some of these materials have been in production and use for a very long time while others have only recently been discovered. Alphabetical in order, this list is not yet complete and isn’t meant to be a complete description of these materials, but it is the most comprehensive list I’ve found to date even if I have made a few mistakes.
- Adhesive Hydrogels (See Hydrogels below) are used in medicine to stop bleeding and close wounds. Made of mostly pure mostly pure biological extracts including collagen, and fibrin, chitosan, alginate, Adhesive Hydrogels can also be made from cyanoacrylate, polyurethanes, polyethylene glycol, hyaluronic acid, and polyester adhesives, dextran, and chondroitin sulfate. While use of the term, hydrogel, dates back to 1894, hydrogels as we know them were pioneered by Otto Wichterle and Drahoslav Lim in 1960.
- Aerogels are some of the lightest materials in existence. Imagine a gas that is solid. They’re made by removing the gels from the materials and replacing it with gases, usually air. Aerogels are made from various materials including alumina, chromia and tin dioxide, carbon, and silica. First developed by Samuel Stephens Kistler in 1931, Aerogels are best known for their ability to resist burning, but are used in medicine, military applications, electronics, tennis rackets, and water purification.
- Aerographite is a porous synthetic foam that uses an interconnected network of tubular carbon. Aerographite was developed at the University of Kiel and the Technical University of Hamburg in 2012. Unlike carbon nanotubes, Aerographite resembles vitreous carbon and might serve as a material for light sails and supercapacitors.
- Amorphous Alloys have a glass like structure as well as the ability to conduct electricity and polish to a very high luster. First produced at Caltech by by W. Klement Jun, RH Willens and Pol Duwez in 1960, these alloys are made by the super rapid cooling of molten alloys. Currently used to make high tensile pipes, sensors, and in aerospace uses by NASA, Amorphous Alloys are potential candidates for use in bone repair, to replace silicone in nano molds, and in field electron emission devices.
- Artificial Spider Silks are self-assembling (See below) polyacrylic hydrogel fibers made from polyacrylic acid crosslinked with vinyl-functionalized silica nanoparticles using Escherichia coli bacteria derived from proteins extracted from goat’s milk, yeasts, plants, the waste from silkworms which have been used to create natural silk. Artificial Spider Silks are being tested for use in running shoes and lightweight parkas as well as ballistics protection. Artificial Spider Silks have been used to make Biosteel. (See below.)
- Auxetics have the amazing ability to become thicker when stretched. First described by A. G. Kolpakov in 1985, and are made from numerous materials. They are especially suited for shock absorption. Auxetics have been used to make footwear, Gor-Tex, auxetic polyurethane foam, nonwoven fabrics, paper, and even occur naturally in some rocks and minerals as well as the skin covering a cow’s teats.
- Bioadhesives are glues formed synthetically from natural sugars, proteins, soy, and carbohydrates. While generally not performing as well as non bioadhesives, there have been improvements made possible by the use of natural bioadhesives secreted from microbes, molluscs, and crustaceans. Shellac secreted from female lac bugs is the most common and possibly the oldest example of a Bioadhesive, and was once used to make gramophone and 78RPM records before being replaced by vinyl. True lacquer is also made from lac bug secretions.
- Biocement or Self Healing Concrete uses calcium carbonate emitting bacteria to fill small cracks in concrete as they occur. First discovered by the ancient Romans (most likely accidentally) who used a locally available form of lime in the concrete they used to make roads, bridges, and buildings. The modern process of making self healing concrete was made possible by Carolyn M. Dry in the early 1990s.
- Bio-composites are made from natural fibers mixed with resins derived from renewable and nonrenewable resources. One of the oldest and most well known Bio-composites is particle board which was first made in Germany in 1887. The first sheets of particle board were invented by German Luftwaffe pilot Max Himmelheber in 1932.
- Biodegradable Composites are Bio-composites (see above) made from natural fibers held together with plant based resins which are biodegradable.
- Biomaterials are natural or synthetic materials, that are alive or lifeless, most often made of multiple components, and can interact with biological systems. Often used in medical applications to augment or replace a natural function, Biomaterials can be used to make self-healing materials, or self-assembling materials. The use of Biomaterials date back thousands of years with the oldest recorded example being the use of animal sinew for sutures by ancient Egyptians.
- BioSteel is fiber-based material “silk” protein made from artificial spider silk (see above) I t’s said to be stronger than steel and able to stretch up to 20 times its original size without losing strength. BioSteel is currently being used by Airbus in the construction of airplanes while Adidas is using it in shoes.
- Borophene is a crystalline atomic monolayer of boron. It is known to be stronger and more flexible than graphene. While first synthesized in 2015, research into how it may be used is still ongoing.
- Borophane is a hydrogenated form of borophene. Borophane is thought to be more stable and less likely to oxidize that Borophene.
- Bulk Diamonds are industrial diamonds made in a new process that allows large quantiles at such low expense they can be used for building machines as well as anything else that uses industrial diamonds. As diamonds are made from carbon this might be a great way to sequester carbon.
- Cactus Leather is just what its name suggests, a faux leather made from cactus fibers. Twice a year nopal cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) also known as the prickly pear or Indian fig, are harvested by cutting cactus leaves and leaving the plant to continue growing. In countries like Ethiopia, these cactuses are taking over grazing and crop lands. This form of vegan leather has been used to make handbags, shoes, apparel, furniture, and automotive upholstery. The waste from the manufacture of Cactus Leather can be used to make, animal feed, human food, and beer.
- Carbicrete is like concrete except that it contains no cement. Instead it is made from mineral waste and carbon captured during curing making it carbon negative at a price that is 20% lower than concrete.
- Carbon Concrete is concrete made from cement and carbon fibers creating concrete with extreme tensile strength. Being 5 to 6 times as strong as traditional concrete, using carbon fibers rather than steel for reinforcement does away with the problems associated with rust, making Carbon Concrete a better choice for bridges and other structures that must bear extreme loads. Developed by the University of Augsburg, Carbon Concrete is made by spraying carbon fibers into the cement as it is poured. Like carbicrete, Carbon Concrete requires no sand thereby reducing the environmental impacts of an ever dwindling supply of building grade sand worldwide.
- Carbon Nanotubes are tiny tubes made from carbon and measured in nanometres. Thomas Edison patented the proposed the use of Carbon Nanotube filaments in light bulbs in 1889 but LV Radushkevich and VM Lukyanovich were the first to actually make carbon nanotubes in 1952. Current uses include bicycle parts, wind turbines, marine paints, sports gear, scaffolding for bone growth, and Gecko tape, but the high cost of production have limited hundreds of possible uses for the time being.
- Cellulose Nanofibers or Nanocellulose are nanosized cellulose fibrils (Small or slender fibers.) from wood and other native fibers through high temperature, high-pressure, and high velocity impact homogenization, grinding or microfluidization, or by a process called acid hydrolysis. When acid hydrolysis is used it is called cellulose nanocrystal. Crystalline cellulose is comparable to Kevlar in strength. Potential uses include paper, cardboard, composites, absorbent products, sanitary napkins, tampons, diapers, wound dressings, a thickener and binder in foods, and dozens more.
- Cloth Tiles are one of my favorite new materials as they are made from waste fabrics that are impregnated with ceramics. These ceramic fabrics have been used for high heat uses such as furnace linings, door seals, tube seals, gaskets, and as shields on the Space Shuttle, but are best known for their uses in decorating homes.
- Conductive Inks have existed in silver and carbon colors, but in recent years Conductive Inks have been made in primary colors giving users the means to mix them into other colors. Often used to replace copper in printed circuit boards, Conductive Inks are used for RFID tags, computer keyboards, windshield defrosters, and radio antennas printed on the back windows of cars. While never achieving mainstream popularity, Conductive Inks have also been used on t-shirts as a means to control the volume of various stereo and loudspeaker systems simply by touching the shirt.
- E-skin or Electronic Skin are flexible, stretchable and self-healing electronics that function like human or animal skin. Their uses include soft robotics, prosthetics, artificial intelligence and health monitoring. Some are green in that they are made from natural products, and others are recyclable and reusable.
- Ferrofluid or Magnetic liquids are ferrous metal nanoparticles suspended in liquids. Ferrofluids were first developed in 1963 by NASA’s Steve Papell in order to create magnetic rocket fuel which could be more easily pumped in the weightless environment of space. Their uses include liquid seals in computer hard disks, as a means for cooling loudspeakers, and previous medical applications.
- FlexFoil™ allows for the construction of fixed wing aircraft with wings that change shape with changes in speed allowing more lift at lower speeds and more streamlining at higher speeds. Made from aluminum and controlled using electric motors, this allows for seamless construction. Carmaker, Aston Martin plans to use FlexFoil on the rear wing of their electric Valhalla sports car which is to be made available to the public in 2025.
- Flexible OLED are flexible organic light-emitting diodes used in flexible plastic display technology that is already in use in electronics like smartphones, laptops, wearables, tablets, and televisions allowing these devices to bend and roll. Flexible OLED is also used in patches that can be applied to skin to relieve pain.
- Fullerene, named for Buckminster Fuller and sometimes called buckyballs, or bucky onions. Buckytubes, are a form of Fullerene that has been used to make carbon nanotubes. The bulk solid form of pure or mixed fullerenes is called fullerite. Fullerenes were first discovered after their accidental synthesis in 1985 were they detected in nature, and outer space. Their discovery was made by Harold Kroto of the University of Sussex, who was working with James R. Heath, Sean O’Brien, Robert Curl and Richard Smalley from Rice University. Made from various materials including carbon, boron, molybdenum sulfide, tungsten, titanium, and niobium, uses include biomedical applications like MRIs, X-ray imaging, and photodynamic therapy as well as drug and gene delivery. Fullerene is made by sending a large electric current between graphite electrodes in an inert atmosphere to create plasma that then cools into sooty residue.
- Gallium was discovered by French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875. An element, Gallium is only found mixed with other elements such as bauxite and zinc ores, and in trace amounts in coal flue dusts and ocean waters. Gallium is used in the production of semiconductors, electronics, LEDs, laser diodes, cell phones, medicine, and NASA’s Mars rovers.
- Gorilla Glass™ is a product of Corning Inc. It’s predecessor was “muscled glass” marketed as Chemcor going back as far as the 1960s. Lighter, stronger, and more scratch resistant than regular glass, these products are found in automotive, aviation, and pharmaceutical uses, and is used by Apple in their iPhones.
- Graphene is a two demencial allotrope of carbon rediscovered in 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov who shared a Nobel Prize for their work. The strongest material ever tested, Graphene, while brittle, is 100 times stronger than steel, Graphene is used in semiconductors, electronics, batteries,and composites, and as a stronger and more durable replacement for fiberglass and metals in structural applications making it very popular in motorsports and aviation.
- GRIP Metal™ isn’t a new material but it does utilize a new stamping method that allows two pieces of metal to bind like Velcro instead of being bolted, bonded, or welded. Grip Metal is available in any shape and can be used to provide mechanical bonds for brick, block, lumber, and steel. Grip Metal uses mechanical attachment for structural reinforcement, thermal enhancement, in composites, and can be made from any metal substrate. Grip Metal is available in thickness ranging from 0.3 mm to 0.94 mm.
- Hemp Leather is another faux leather like Cactus Leather, but is made from waste hemp (dust) generated by the hemp food and agriculture industry. Hemp Bio Leather is used for footwear, apparel, automotive, interiors etc. A process for making Hemp Leather was patented in 1989 by Tae S. Hwang and Young K. Hong, but has since expired making it available to anyone who wants to use it.
- Hydrogels are crosslinked hydrophilic polymers that do not dissolve in water. Hydrogels are used to make breast implants, soft contact lenses, disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, fibers, glue, wound dressings, explosives, and to retain moisture in soil. The liquid used to attach EKG monitors is a hydrogel. The list of uses for Hydrogels is seemingly endless.
- Hyperdiamonds are aggregated diamond nanorods made from graphite which you may know as pencil lead or a dry lubricant. Developed in 2003, Hyperdiamonds are known to be the hardest and least compressible material currently known to man. These Nanodiamond aggregates also form in nature when graphite deposits are subject to meteoritic impacts. Like other industrial diamonds, Hyperdiamonds have many potential uses for cutting and grinding tools, and have been compared to the mythological material adamant.
- Indefinitely Recyclable Plastic or PDK ( poly(diketoenamine) was discovered by Brett Helms and Corinne Scown in Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry in 2021. Unlike regular plastics which were never designed to be recycled, PDK is designed to easily break down when mixed with acid, separated from additives and used to make new plastics that perform as well as the original material. While not yet in use outside of the lab, PDK shows great potential for use in almost anything that is currently made from plastics.
- Intelligent Polymer Gels or Smart Hydrogels are hydrogels (see above) that contain fluids (usually water) in a complex polymers which alter their structural phase transitions in response to external stimuli, including light, temperature, pH, electrical and magnetic fields, and bio/chemicals. Possible uses for Smart Hydrogels include the construction of “muscles” in artificial hearts.
- Ionic Liquids are liquid salt compounds composed mostly of ions with melting points below 100 °C. Ionic Liquids are currently used in the production of gasoline but can potentially be used for carbon capture, as well as nuclear fuel reprocessing, as heat storage mediums, in metal-air batteries, paint additives, solvents, and pharmaceuticals. It’s not known when ionic liquids were discovered but they were reported to exist by S. Gabriel and J. Weiner in 1888.
- Light Transmitting Concrete, also known as translucent concrete is a material made of fine cement and optical glass fibres (fiber optics) which allows light to pass through walls. First patented in Canada in 1935, Light Transmitting Concrete has been used for façades, and for cladding of interior walls.
- Living Materials combine polymers with living cells or use genetically modified living cells to create the materials themselves. Living materials are a form of living biomaterials (see above) able to self-repair, sense, and respond to their environment. According to nature.com “Yeast strains can be engineered to secrete enzymes into bacterial cellulose, generating autonomously grown catalytic materials and enabling DNA-encoded modification of bacterial cellulose bulk properties…” Living Materials are programmable and are used in the construction of self-repairing materials. (See below.)
- Karta-Pack™ is a compostable and biodegradable composite material made from molded pulp of cotton and bagasse (a waste material from sugar production) bamboo fibres, and cardboard that replaces plastics in many packaging applications. Karta-Pack is 100% post-consumer. Besides replacing plastic blister packaging, Karta-Pack has been used to make furniture. This writer can see possible use for construction materials.
- Kevlar is a synthetic fiber (Poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide) used for tires, sails, ropes, and of course, bulletproof vests. Kevlar was first created by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965 to make lightweight tires as it was known that a gasoline shortage was on its way. Kevlar is used to make cables, as a replacement for asbestos, brake linings, cables, bow strings, shoe laces, loudspeaker cones, fiber-optic cables, drum heads, and a myriad of other products.
- Limex is a material made of limestone that can be used as a substitute for paper and plastics. Limex can be injection, inflation, and vacuum formed using the same equipment used for plastics, and uses less petroleum than regular plastics. Limex has been used to make both reusable and one use shopping bags, and take out containers. Unlike paper, Limex requires almost no water to make and is water resistant.
- Luminous Cement is a new type of phosphorescent cement developed by José Carlos Rubio Ávalos, a researcher at Michoacan University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo in Mexico. Luminous Cement can be used to illuminate highways, bike paths, sidewalks, walk ways, or buildings without using electricity. By changing the microscopic structure of regular cement they have developed a phosphorescent product that is more durable and longer lasting than other phosphorescent materials and glows for up to 12 hours after exposure to light. Luminous Cement has the potential to greatly reduce the need for street lamps and the bills that come with them.
- Magnetic Thinking Putty is similar to Silly Putty. Made by adding iron oxide to silicon based putties, Magnetic Thinking Putty is non toxic and reacts to magnets. While able to remove stains and act as an eraser, it was also used by Astronauts tools in place in zero-gravity. Sounds like a great means for mechanics to keep up with the ever elusive 10mm sockets.
- Magnetostrictive Materials have the ability to alter their shapes and sizes when exposed to magnetic currents. Magnetostrictive Materials tend to show non-linear behavior when exposed to magnetic fields, and change magnetic energy into kinetic energy. James Joule first observed magnetostriction in iron in 1842. These materials are used to to prevent shoplifting, induce acoustic noise and vibration, convert electromagnetic energy into mechanical energy, and as sensors that measure magnetic fields or detect a force.
- Melamin was in the news a few years ago for being added to baby formula and animal feeds made in China. Not only was it illegal but it sometimes causes long term health problems when ingested. My only experience with Melamin is that it lines the walls of my bathroom and looks horrid. You’ve probably seen dry erase boards made from Melamin. Composed of an organic compound with the formula C3H6N6, Melamin has found uses in Formica, dinner ware, insulation, soundproofing material and in cleaning products, such as Magic Eraser. Melamin is used in a number of drugs and has recently been studied as a form of carbon capture that lessen tailpipe emissions from automobile engines.
- Metallic Foams are primarily used in aerospace and industry as filters, flame arrestors, heat exchangers, electronics cooling and carbon dioxide scrubbers. These foams are also used in blast and ballistics testing, as well as shielding X-rays, gamma rays and neutron radiation. Possible future uses include components to reduce impacts upon crashes of automobiles and airplanes.
- Metallic Microlattices are porous metallic material consisting of ultra-light metal foam. (See above.) One of the lightest materials know to exist, Metallic Microlattices were developed by HRL Laboratories, in collaboration with the University of California, Irvine and Caltech in 2011. In 2012, Metallic Microlattices were names as one of 10 World-Changing Innovations by Popular Mechanics. Light, yet strong, Metallic microlattice has any number of potential applications in automotive and aeronautical engineering as thermal and vibration insulators. Metallic Microlattices are capable of returning to their original state after compression thus making them suitable as spring-like energy storage devices.
- Molecular Superglue is made from Streptococcus pyogenes, aka flesh-eating bacteria. This glue has been found to be so strong that equipment used to test it broke before the bond released. Unlike regular glues, Molecular Superglue is used to glue structures within biological cells together, so don’t expect to see this glue outside of laboratories.
- Mushroom roots called Mycelium can be used for insulation, bricks, leather, and clothing. Other uses are compostable packaging, disposable medical supplies, and plant-based ‘meats’ such as 3D printed steaks.
- Newspaper wood is another of my favorites. While not suited for structural applications it can replace wood in furniture, siding, veneers, and trim. As the name suggests, newspaper wood is made by mechanically rolling old newspapers into logs using glue that is solvent and plasticizers-free. The logs are then sawmilled just as any other log. Having operated a sawmill I suspect these logs would be much easier to handle, and produce much less waste as, unlike trees, newspaper logs would always be straight and uniform in diameter.
- Nanofluids are fluids having nanometer-sized particles suspended in a base fluid to form a colloidal solution of nanoparticles. The nanoparticles used in Nanofluids can be made of metals, oxides, carbides, or carbon nanotubes. Base fluids include water, ethylene glycol, and oil. The properties of Nanofluids include thermophysical properties such as specific heat, density, viscosity, and thermal conductivity. Nanofluids are used for convective heat transfer, to alter the viscosity of oils, engine cooling, electronics cooling, and refrigeration, as well as use in solar collectors. Graphene based Nanofluids are used in motor oils.
- Nickle-Molybdenum-Zinc coatings along with cobalt coatings can be paired together on both sides of thin sheets of semiconducting silicon which is placed in water exposed to sunlight. The result is the separation of water into oxygen and clean burning hydrogen gas in much the same was as natural photosynthesis in green plants. Sadly, as this process has been known at least as far back as 2011, I can point to no instances where the process has been used in commercial applications.
- Nitinol is an alloy of nickel and titanium, which has shape memory and superelasticity. (See Shape Memory Alloy bellow.) Nitinol was accidently discovered in 1959 in the Naval Ordnance Laboratory when it failed a test in the search for better materials for the nose cones of missiles. Nitinol is used to make various actuators, solenoids, and servo motors, in the construction of robots, valves, cameras, telephones, and even Corvettes. Medical uses include orthopedic implants, catheters, stents, superelastic needles, and for the brackets and wires used by orthodontists when making braces.
- Nitronal is a product of further study of Nitroglycerin. Like it’s namesake, Nitronal is a contact explosive in non diluted form. Like other nitrates, Nitronal is believed to have medical and industrial uses that are still being researched as well as its current usages as vasodilator and pain medicines.
- Non-Newtonian Fluids don’t obey Newton’s law of viscosity. One such example is ketchup which thins when shaken. Silly Putty is another example. Some lubricants, printers ink, some paints, driller’s mud, clays, and silicone oils and coatings are non-newtonian fluids. Remember flubber? That’s another. Quicksand is a naturally occuring example. These fluids are used for fluid friction reduction, oil-pipeline friction reduction, surfactant application, and more.
- Paptic® is a form of paper used to replace plastics in medical packaging, carrier bags, graphical applications, dust bags, shipping bags, cosmetic bags, textiles, and wrappers. As Paptic is made from wood fibers, synthetic fibers using a technology called foam forming it can be made using conventional paper processes. Paptic is reusable, can be recycled with cardboard, biodegradable, and is resource efficient with a lower carbon footprint than paper or plastic. Paptic has won numerous awards for recycling, sustainability, and innovation.
- Passive Cooling Ceramics have existed for at least 5000 years but have been mostly forgotten since the advent of modern refrigeration in 1856. Various ceramic pot coolers known as zeer, ghara, matka, surahi, botijos, and ollas. Finally, in the 1890s the Coolgardie safe was developed by Australian miners. These forgotten refrigerators all worked by what is known as the “botijo effect” a process in which water leaking through unfired clay pots creates a cooling effect as it evaporates. Passive Cooling Ceramics are now available for refrigeration, air conditioning, roofing, and more.
- Phase Change Materials have been around forever. Literally. Water is a PCM. So is paraffin wax. A change in phase is when a material changes from one state to another such as the freezing and boiling of water. Metals are phase change materials. When materials change phase they collect and release heat. For example, paraffin collects heat while being melted and releases heat as it solidifies. Sodium acetate, paraffin wax, and other phase change materials can be used to store heat during the daytime then release the heat into your home at night. They are also used to heat water and store energy.
- Piñatex is a non-biodegradable faux leather made from pineapple leaves, PLA (polylactic acid) and petroleum based resins. Piñatex was invented by Dr Carmen Hijosa in the 1990s while she was a PhD student at the Royal College of Art in London. Piñatex is PETA-certified as a vegan fashion label, and is used for clothing, wallets, and seat covers.
- Piezoelectric Materials are able to produce and electric current when stressed. They are classified as crystalline, ceramic, or polymeric, and have predictable electrical responses to being compressed, stretched, twisted, heated, or cooled making them well suited for use as sensors. Such materials can also be made to compress, twist, heat, or cool when electricity is applied to them. While Piezoelectric Materials were known to exist as far back as the 1700s, the first practical application of piezoelectric devices was the invention of sonar by French physicist Paul Langevin and Constantin Chilowsky in 1917 to detect submarines. Piezoelectrics are now widely used in automotive, electronic, and many mechanical applications.
- Platinum-Gold Alloy may be the most wear resistant material currently known to exist. Developed by Sandia National Laboratories, Platinum-Gold Alloy is applied as a coating for electrical contacts. With the ability to remain stable at temperatures up to 500°C Platinum-Gold Alloy will no doubt find its way into hundreds of high heat applications as required in many industrial applications. Dependant on commody prices, it can sometimes be used to replace gold, and thus lower cost in electronic devices. While not new, the 90% Platinum, 10% gold alloy has only recently been recognized for its wear resistance.
- Programmable Matter makes it possible to design clothes that become porous when hot and impermeable as they cool. This is possible because these materials have the ability to change their physical properties in a programmable fashion. Programmable matter can also be used for information processing, in medicine, and as liquid crystal displays.
- PolyUrea Coatings are used to make truck bedliners, wrinkle free clothing, roof coatings, and finishes for furniture, wood floors, boats, and automobiles. Like polyurethane, polyUrea is a copolymer, a polymer derived from more than one species of monomer.
- Re-Crete is portland cement combined with recycled (ground) concrete, shredded paper, waste polystyrene foam, credit cards and CDs, home electronics wire, salvaged house paint, dryer lint, and fly ash. It can be used almost anywhere other concretes are used, and doesn’t require that sand and gravel be mined to make it.
- Recycled Plastic Composites and Replast are mixed waste plastics combined with polymers and/or other bonding agents to make bricks, blocks, furniture, toys, etc. By grinding up waste plastics and mixing them with bonding agents they can be poured into molds to make new products, and reduce the amount of plastics going into landfills and the environment.
- ReWall is made from postconsumer and postindustrial mixed paper and plastic scrap using a proprietary process to make 4-foot-by-8-foot sheets called Everboard that can be used for exterior walls and roofs. ReWall is also used for the manufacture of ceiling tiles. Having been acquired by Continuus Material Recovery LLC (CMR) who operates the largest waste separation facility in the country, there is little doubt to their commitment to making these products available everywhere.
- Self-healing Hydrogels are specialized types of polymer hydrogels (See above.) capable of absorbing high volumes of water via hydrogen bonding, with the ability to form new bonds when old bonds are broken using electrostatic attraction. Self-healing hydrogels are self-repairing materials. (See below.) The flesh-like properties of Self-healing Hydrogels make them useful for reconstructive tissue engineering as well as passive and preventive applications. Researchers are currently working to use these materials for absorbable sutures, drug delivery, and as Sealants for acid leaks.
- Self-Repairing Materials or Self-healing materials are artificial or synthetic substances with the ability to repair themselves. Numerous metal, plastic, ceramic, and cementitious materials. (See Biocement above.) Self-Repairing Materials have been studied since the 1800s. Self-healing epoxies can be used to prevent oxidization on metals. Just imagine paint with the means to repair scratches all on its own.
- Silly Putty is as much fun today as it was in the early 1960s when I first learned of its existence. Made from silicone polymers, Silly Putty was accidentally discovered during research into potential rubber substitutes during World War 2 as rubber was rationed and in short supply. By reacting boric acid with silicone oil its inventors produced a gooey, bouncy, non-Newtonian (See above.) substance that always returned to its original viscosity. Besides the many hours of fun, Silly Putty can be used to remove dirt, lint, pet hair, and ink from surfaces, as well as masking when spray painting, and in lapping of lenses and mirrors.
- Silicene is a two-dimensional allotrope of silicon, similar to graphene, and has been used to make transistors for the US Army, as well as photodetectors. While likely uses for Silicene are many, researchers have no yet mastered a means to mass produce the material.
- Shape Memory Alloys were first discovered in 1932 by Arne Ölande, a Swiss chemist who was studying the properties of gold–cadmium alloys. These alloys have the ability to return to their original shapes when heated. Shape memory alloys are used to replace hydraulic, pneumatic, and motor-based systems, and to make air tight seals. Shape Memory Alloys are used in automobiles, airplanes, spacecraft, robotics, bridges, pipes, smartphones, cameras, and for use in affixment-free bracelets made by crafters.
- Shrilk is a plastic made from shrimp shells and silk that is edible and biogrades into natural fertilizers. Developed by researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, chitosan from waste shrimp shells and fibroin, a silk byproduct are combined to make this biodegradable and compostable bioplastic. Uses include implantable foams, films, and scaffolds for surgical closures, tissue engineering, wound healing, and regenerative medicine applications.
- SiliconX is the latest breakthrough in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries without expansion. While silicone expands up to 400% when charging SiliconeX doesn’t expand when used as a battery anode. According to the Norwegian company, IFE, the technology can achieve three to five times the charge capacity of anode made with common graphite technology.
- Skutterudite or Smaltite is a cobalt arsenide mineral containing variable amounts of nickel and iron. Naturally occurring Skutterudite was discovered in Modum, Buskerud, Norway, in 1845, and is mined in Norway, Canada, and New Jersey. Skutterudite is currently being studied for use as a low cost thermoelectric material with low thermal conductivity.
- Smart Concrete is embedded with carbon fibers which increases strength, and because carbon fibers conduct electricity, can be checked for cracks simply by checking electrical current flows through the concrete.
- Superconducting Materials are materials in which electrical resistance disappears and magnetic flux fields are expelled from the material. Discovered in 1911 by Nobel Prize winning, Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, electric currents in a loop of superconducting wire can remain indefinitely with no external power source. Magnetic field lines from the interior of Superconducting Materials during transitions into the superconducting state. Uses include mass spectrometers, powerful electromagnets, MRI machines, and particle accelerators. Future uses may be in smart grid, electric power transmission, transformers, power storage devices, electric motors, and magnetic levitation devices.
- Super Hydrophobic Materials and Ultra Hydrophobic Materials are materials that repel water and other liquids. Also found in nature on Lotus leaves and the wings of some insects these coatings prevent water and dirt from coating the surfaces they protect. These coatings can be used to reduce friction on the hulls of ships and airplanes, for water repellent clothing, and to keep car windshields clean.
- Strand Rods can transfer earthquake forces directly to the ground to prevent vibrations in buildings and other such structures. Carbon-fiber cores in an outer layer of inorganic fiber impregnated with thermoplastic resin make Strand Rods very lightweight. Strands differ from cable in that two or more wires are laid around a single center wire, whereas cables have concentrically wrapped groups of strands.
- Thermaltech Fabric can capture the sun’s rays and raise the temperature within clothing by as much as 18F in only minutes. A lightweight, paper thin fabric made from stainless steel yarn so fine you can see through it, Thermaltech Fabric promises a proactive approach to warmth. Unfortunately the ThermalTech website, thermaltechfabric.com, appears to no longer be in use.
- Thermo-Chromic Paints exhibit the ability to change color with changes in temperature. The stuff that mood rings use to change colors, these paints are now used for automotive finishes, inks, Duracell battery state indicators, toys, clothing, paper for thermal printers, digital watches, and even on Coors Light cans to indicate the beer is cool.
- Titanium Carbon Composites or Carbotanium are made from carbon fiber and titanium which are woven together. The resulting fabric is then layered together and bonded after the fiber is heat treated at 500 degrees Celsius. Currently, the only manufacturer of Carbotanium is Modena Design, a subsidiary of Italian car maker, Pagani who uses the fabric to make the bodies of their extra strong and lightweight supercars, the Zonda R and Huayra. Expect to see more companies using Titanium Carbon Composites in the future.
- Titanium Fluoride Phosphate was made possible by researchers working for the Skoltech Center for Energy Science and Technology (CEST) in Russia. As a possible cathode material, Titanium Fluoride Phosphate can be used in metal-ion batteries with applications in the automotive industry. Exhibiting high electrochemical potential stability at high charge/discharge rates, Titanium Fluoride Phosphate batteries can be made while using no lithium, cobalt or nickel. As titanium is more readily available than lithium, supply is not an issue.
- Velcro was not brought to earth by aliens but by astronauts who flew to the planet Velcron and mined it there. I’m just funnin’ ya, Velcro isn’t from another planet and was developed by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral who patented Velcro in 1955. Velcro has been used in healthcare, the military, land vehicles, aircraft, and even spacecraft, but it makes a lousy closure for my cell phone case. Damned thing keeps falling out. Previously made from cotton, Velcro is now made from nylon and polyester.
- Transparent Aluminum, or aluminium oxynitride, is a ceramic made from composed of aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen. As the name implies Transparent Aluminum is optically transparent. Possible uses include bulletproof, blast-resistant, and optoelectronic windows. Resistant to acids, bases, and water, Transparent Aluminum is half the weight of traditional bulletproof glass. Possible uses include transparent soft drink containers, and packaging for computer parts.
- Wood Sponge is, as the name implies, sponge made from balsa wood. By treating wood with chemicals that remove lignin and hemicellulose leaving only cellulose, Xiaoqing Wang and colleagues are able to make a sponge that will suck over 40 times its weight in oil from water. The sponge can then be squeezed to remove the oil and used again. Look for Wood Sponge to be used to clean up oil spills as well as water filtration.
- ZrOC is a new coating technique in which mixtures of zirconium, oxygen, and carbon are deposited on metal, plastic, wood, glass, or textiles using a process called physical vapour deposition. Depending on how those elements are mixed, you get a chrome-like finish in any colour you like. Sometimes harder and more corrosion-resistant than regular chrome, ZrOC finishes are environmentally safer that traditional electroplating and painting.
- 4D printing, also known as 4D bioprinting, is 3D printing that has the ability to change its shape after having been printed. A process rather than any single material, 4D printed objects have the ability to reshape themselves based on changes in their environment. Currently used to make scaffolding for bone regrowth, 4D printing shows promise in other fields including packaging, as muscle in robots, and wound healing.
If you know of other amazing materials or want to suggest corrections, please feel free to do so in the comments. I’ll be happy to add them to the list.
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