ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | APRIL 2024 5 FEEDBACK / RESEARCH TRACKS SHAPE-SHIFTING PLASTIC A team of molecular engineers from several institutions developed a kind of plastic that can be shape- shifted. Researchers used a dynamic crosslinking approach based on the reversible addition of thiols to benzal cyanoacetates, a process known as a “Michael addition.” The resulting plastic is able to be modified by tempering— a process traditionally used for metalworking. The scientists found that by heating the plastic to temperatures ranging from 60-110°C, then transferring it to a standard food freezer, they could create several different objects from the same material. First they made a spoon sturdy enough to scoop peanut butter. They then used tempering to change the spoon to a fork, and then to an adhesive capable of joining two panes of glass together. However, testing showed that the plastic could only be changed seven times before degrading. Researchers from the University of Chicago, U.S. DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, NIST, and NASA Glenn Research Center comprised the team. DOI: 10.1126/ science.adi5009. ARGONNE HEADS MICROCHIP PROJECT The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Argonne National Laboratory $4 million WRIGHT TECHNIQUES The recent editorial on the Wright brothers (AM&P, March 2024) mentioned that they used a wind tunnel to test out wing designs. Around 20 years ago, I visited their museum in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. As I recall, this was the first “real” wind tunnel where lift and drag could be measured simultaneously. I believe they tested something like 2000 shapes and also invented the lab notebook, which was on display. At the time, I was dealing with an employee who had a horrible lab notebook, which made me take notice. The Wright brothers recorded their hypothesis, experimental results, conclusions, and thoughts on next steps. No one made them do this, it just made sense. It turns out that their notebook format is almost identical to that recommended by the American Chemical Society, probably to this day. There were many reasons they were successful. The wind tunnel and lab notebook were two important ones. Bill Hamm, FASM FEEDBACK We welcome all comments and suggestions. Send letters to joanne.miller@asminternational.org. Two applications from a single feedstock: a) batch of as-cast, dried N63; b) freestanding film of N63; and c) N6360 spoon and fork. (a) (b) (c) toward research that will use atomic layer deposition (ALD) to advance new materials and devices for creating microchips that use up to 50 times less energy than current chips. Argonne will partner with Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Boise State University on the project. The Argonne scientists will use ALD to redesign the microchip and eliminate the back-and-forth shuffling of data, which requires significant energy. Currently, silicon is the semiconducting material used to make memory chips and microprocessors, but the 3D integration necessary to stack the layers is difficult to achieve with silicon. Building on previous research, Argonne scientists are using ALD to create atomically precise molybdenum disulfide films to replace the bulky 3D silicon thin films used in today’s transistors. anl.gov. The DOE is funding energy efficient techniques for producing microchips. Courtesy of Sebastian Moss.
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