A few weeks ago I was helping my housemate mend her punctured tyre on her bike. We had to dismantle the wheel, remove the inner tube, figure out where the leak was using sophisticated technology like sticking it in a bucket of water looking for the bubbles and then basically stick a rubber bandaid over the hole. It wasn’t difficult, but imagine what it would be like if you never had to fix a puncture again. If the rubber just melded itself back together and off you went.
It could happen! In normal rubber compounds the forces that hold the molecules together are covalent cross-links, ionic bonds and hydrogen bonds. Researchers at ESPCI in Paris have created a rubber like material from fatty acids and urea where molecules are linked only by hydrogen bonds. This makes the material less strong, but imparts a remarkable ability for the material to repair itself when it is compressed at room temperature. It can be cut, and it heals itself. It loses no strength in the process, which can be repeated over and over.
So, if I would like a self repairing tyre, what would you make with your self-repairing ‘smart’ rubber?!
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