Without a scratch: New American Chemical Society video on self-healing plastics

he video takes viewers on a tour of the lab of Nancy Sottos, Ph.D., who has published articles on the self-healing plastics in a number of ACS peer-reviewed scientific journals. She is an engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Inspired by human skin, the plastics repair themselves by “bleeding” healing agents when they are cut or scratched.

This development offers the promise of cell phones, laptops, cars and other products with self-repairing, longer-lasting surfaces. However, Sottos anticipates that it may be awhile before the self-healing technology is widely used in electronic goods. She expects it will first be used in more durable, self-healing paints and coatings.

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The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

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