Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, October 23 (Xinhua)-- scientists have successfully combined the complex structure of DNA with the purity of glass to create a material that is both light and strong. The density of this super material is 1/5 that of steel, but its strength is four times that of steel. This makes it the "strongest known" material, scientists say. The study was carried out by scientists at the University of Connecticut, Columbia University and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Finding materials that are both hard and light has always been a challenge, and these two characteristics often contradict each other, but this is not the case, and these two features can sometimes coexist.

Most cool science projects have some equally cool sources of inspiration. This time the inspiration comes from Iron Man's iconic armor. " I'm a big fan of Iron Man movies, and I've always wanted to know how to create better armor for Iron Man. It must be very light so that he can fly faster. It must be very strong to resist the enemy's attack. Our new material is five times lighter than steel, but four times stronger. Therefore, our glass nanolattice will be more suitable than any other structural material to make an improved version of Iron Man Armor. " Oleg Gang, a nanomaterial scientist at Columbia University.

The key to their method is to take advantage of the inherent advantages of glass itself, yes, glass that is easy to break. The reason why glass is easy to break is in most cases related to defects in its structure, such as cracks or missing atoms. However, in the purest and most perfect form, a small piece of glass can withstand enough pressure to crush some of the strongest and heaviest materials.

However, it is extremely difficult to make large pieces of flawless glass. This is why when glass is used as a structural material, its thickness is almost always less than one micron. Because it is lighter than many metals and ceramics, the structure made of this pure nanometer glass is both strong and lightweight.

CTOnews.com noted that in order to shape pure glass particles into a three-dimensional frame, the researchers used DNA as a scaffold. The self-assembled DNA framework acts as a skeleton on which scientists carefully coat it with a layer of glass. This delicate balance produces a material that is both strong and lightweight, reaching a strength and density previously thought impossible.

"the use of DNA and mineralization to create designed three-dimensional frame nanomaterials provides a great opportunity for construction machinery properties. However, before we can use it as a technology, a lot of research work needs to be done." Gang said.

Next, the researchers plan to use DNA structures to make stronger materials. For example, replacing glass with carbide ceramics may produce a better strength-to-weight ratio. Changing the structure of DNA may also greatly increase this ratio.

The study was published in the journal Cell report physical Science.

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