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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9 8 METALS | POLYMERS | CERAMICS Fortify, Boston, a composite 3D printing company, won the Awards for Composites Excellence (ACE) award in the Manufactur- ing category for Equipment and Tooling Innovation. The Ameri- can Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) presented the ACE award to Fortify at the sixth annual Composites and Advanced Materials Expo for its Digital Com- posite Manufacturing platform. The technology improves perfor- mance by aligning fibers optimally throughout parts. 3dfortify.com. Parker Hannifin Corp., Cleveland, recently announced an agreement to acquire aerospace systems manufacturer Exotic Metals Forming Co., Kent, Washington. Parker Hannifin will pay $1.725 billion in cash and plans to house Exotic Metals as a standalone operation within its aero- space unit. parker.com, exoticmetals.com. BRIEFS The FSU scientists are working to develop high-performance polymers with super-elastic and super-soft prop- erties that could be used as joint or cartilage replacements. To accomplish this, their team is exploring the bound- aries of how existing polymers respond to stimuli and can be reorganized for better performance. Polymers that spontaneously “un- zip” or deteriorate in response to an external stimulus have gained traction from scientists for their potential use in a variety of applications. However, this spontaneous deteriorating—called depolymerization—often makes them difficult to assemble in the first place. The researchers refined a process to both create the polymer and cause it to break down, completely changing its structure. They developed a thermodynamic strategy where they synthesize themac- romolecules at a lower temperature and then stabilize the polymer before warming it up. At warmer temperatures, the materials could depolymerize with Right: Electrons around an iridium ion. Le : Interfacing iridiumwith nickel alters its shape. Courtesy of Fangdi Wen. IRIDIUM’S IDENTITY CRISIS Scientists recently discovered a new kind of magnetic state when they created super-thin artificial structures containing iridium and nickel. Iridium loses its identifying properties and its electrons act oddly in an ultra-thin film when interfaced with nickel-based layers. According to researchers at the National Science Foun- dation (NSF), Alexandria, Va., the nickel has an unex- pectedly strong impact on iridium ions. The discovery could lead to improved control of quantum materials and a deeper understanding of the quantum state for new electronics. Scientists discovered that at the interface between a layer containing nickel and one with iridium, an unusual form of magnetism emerg- es that strongly affects the behavior of spin and orbital motion of electrons. The newly discovered behavior is im- portant because quantum materials with very large spin-orbit interaction are popular candidates for new materi- als and exotic superconductivity. The research was funded by two awards from NSF’s Division of Materials Research. nsf.gov. MANIPULATING THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE OF POLYMERS A research team at Florida State University (FSU), Tallahassee, has de- veloped a method to manipulate poly- mers in a way that changes their fun- damental structure, paving the way for potential applications in cargo deliv- ery and release, recyclable materials, shape-shifting soft robots, antimicrobi- als, and more. Florida State University researchers authored a study on how to change the fundamental structure of a polymer. Courtesy of Bruce Palmer/FSU. Fortify team accepts ACE award. Courtesy of CAMX.