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Intelligent biomass-plastic performing rewritable shape memory
We have developed an intelligent biomass-plastic performing rewritable shape memory, which generates future products with new usages and functions.
Conventional shape-memory plastics usually have cross-linked structures and therefore it is hardlyre-melted, which means that it can not be recycled. Our biomass-plastic, based on polylactic acid made of corns, has an excellent shape memory and also allows recycling (rewritable shape memory) by using thermo-reversible bonding in the cross-linked structure. This plastic s ability of reforming enables users to obtain the target shape by heating a product to 60 oC (30 seconds) with a hair dryer. Moreover, even if external forces under high-temperature conditions unexpectedly deform the product using the plastic, it can be returned to its original shape by simply reheating it under the above condition. This biomass-plastic also enables material recycling that allows rewritable shape memory. Since the thermo-reversible bond dissociates at temperatures higher than 160 oC , this plastic can be melted and molded to the other shape for material recycling, which enable it to rewrite the originally memorized shape to the other shapes.
We will incorporate this new material into future electronic products such as extremely thin personal computers and free-style mobile products, shapes of which users can reform
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