UC Merced researchers invent material that could create more durable electronics

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- Breaking electronics when you drop them could eventually become a thing of the past.

UC Merced researchers are working on a new material that gets stronger as it's hit or stretched.

When you reach for the corn starch in your kitchen cabinet, it likely won't lead to a science project or scientific research. It's probably just going to lead to dinner.

But at UC Merced, it was the item that led Associate Professor Yue Jessica Wang's recipe to success.

"You know you make a corn starch slurry and if you stir it slowly with a spoon, it's a liquid - it's a fluid. So you can easily stir around, but if you stab it quickly with a spoon, a fist or any object, it's hardened," Wang said.

Wang realized that type of "adaptive durability" could be used on wearable electronics like smart watch bands or heart monitors for athletes.

"When those materials are under high impact, we need them to be durable," Wang said.

Scientists got to work and were able to create a substance that is a liquid while being stirred, but if you allow it to dry out or bake it, it becomes hardened and durable.

Postdoctoral Scholar Di Wu works in the lab with Professor Wang.

He is focusing on trying to learn more about the mechanisms in the material that allow it to work this way.

"You already have this fancy behavior, and you're trying to explore why," Wu said.

He's been working on it for two years and says once they determine the underlying mechanisms, it can open a world of possibilities for future use.

"Sometimes, you feel frustrated, but at last you'll find the answer that makes all this suffer - will be paid off," Wu said.

Professor Wang says an immediate use they can see for the material is creating custom-fitting watch bands or heart monitor straps through 3D printing.

"Those are the kind of materials that will benefit from having unique contour shapes because the body's shape of each human being is different - the curvature of our arm is different," Wang said.

Professor Wang says in addition to creating more durable electronics, she hopes this material will reduce the use of plastics and slow pollution.

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