I gave this presentation in April 2004.

1. Self-Assembling Materials:
REvolutionizing the world around us.
Presented by:
Arturo Pelayo
April 26th, 2004
Western Illinois University. Macomb, IL

2. Overview:
• Introduction.
• Applications.
• Future of the Technology.
• Challenges.
•

3. For thousands of years people had to make
do with the materials that nature provided
them with things like wood and stone, and
metals such as gold, lead and copper.
Even after the advent of iron forging, clay
furnaces and glass-making, it was nearly
two thousand years before any great leap
in materials science occurred.

4. This situation has changed
dramatically, our knowledge
of materials has exploded
over the last two decades.
Researchers in the past
refined known materials for
use with new applications,
today's materials scientists,
chemists, physicists and
even biologists and computer
scientists create customized
new materials.
And the future will bring
further advances.
We're on the verge of a new
era -- an age of intelligent
materials

5. The buzzwords of the future will be
nanotechnology, bioengineering and
adaptronics. Researchers in the latter
field are attempting to create materials
that can adapt to various environmental
conditions—for example, construction
support materials that can dampen
oscillations by themselves
Biomaterials include biopolymers,
artificial spider-silk fibers, biomorphic
ceramics made from materials such as
cardboard that maintain the source
material's basic structures, and
materials for medical applications, such
as artificial tissue elements.

6. Nanotechnology ultimately focuses
on individual atoms that are
maneuvered piece by piece in a
completely controlled manner to
create a material.
According to a study conducted by
t h e E l e c t r o n i c Te c h n o l o g y
Association (VDE), microsystems
technology and nanotechnology
have the greatest innovation
potential, ahead of even information
technology and biotechnology.

7. Adaptronics
the marriage of quot;adaptationquot; and
quot;electronics.quot;

8. Adaptronics –
bringing materials to life
fibers
ment in
Hum-free refrigerators, noiseless car interiors, whisper-
aterials.
ing helicopters, ambulances that ride smoothly over
r
potholes – all these things are enabled by adaptronics,
a relatively new science that brings materials to life.
The components adapt automatically to their sur-
roundings, dampen vibrations, suppress noise and
warn of structural failure even before the first cracks
have appeared.

9. Hard drive vs.
organic molecules:
A layer of organic
molecules can store
1,000 times more
data per square
centimeter than a
hard drive

10. Foamed Metal.
Even without nanotechnology, however, the ability to
combine known materials with new production methods
means that the amount of materials used in industry will
continue to increase. Foamed lightweight metals, for
example, could be transformed into especially light, yet
stable components for aerospace or automotive
applications. Such materials are very rigid while weighing
relatively little. Similar properties are exhibited by
composite materials containing fibers made of high-
strength or very rigid materials, such as glass or carbon,
which are incorporated into plastics.

11. Light bulbs vs. LEDs:
Red LEDs are three
times more efficient than
conventional
incandescent light bulbs

12. • http://mediastore.erlm.siemens.de/sbs/
tv-service/polymere_lq_040901.htm

13. • mms://media01.erlm.siemens.de/siemenstv/

14. Harness the potential to develop materials or components that
are so smart they can automatically adapt to their surroundings.
Under ideal circumstances, these materials combine sensors,
regulators and actuators in a highly compact space.

15. Copper vs. nanotubes:
Inch for inch, a wire
made of nanotubes
conducts electricity
1,000 times better

16. Applications

17. These materials are multifunctional. That is, they can
register alterations in their surroundings—for example,
changes of temperature—and respond immediately.
Memory metals are excellent examples of adaptronics: If
they are heated or subjected to a voltage, they change
shape.
They do this by means of a simple, temperature-
dependent alteration of their atomic lattice structure—no
complex electronic manipulation is required.

18. Applications.
Existing
Technology How it Works Market Potential
Applications
Mechanical stress is Actuators for injection
Very high; many
Piezofibers, converted into an pumps and valves,
applications in the near
polymers, patches electrical voltage and compact electric
future
vice versa motors
Damping vibrations in components (car bodies, MR equipment, etc.);
Possible active changes in sections of rotor blades and wings to cut noise and save
Applications energy; increase in component strength (active prevention of deformation);
monitoring of component status when used as a sensor

19. Applications
• Technology
• Memory metals
• How it Works
• Electric current or an increase in temperature give rise to a change in shapePossible
• Applications
• Actuators for valves or interlocks; damping vibrations; components: memory metal contact pads
as microchip mounts that can be released by a change in temperature
• Existing Applications
• Interlocks and valves made of memory-metal wires, strips or springs (e.g. dishwasher sensor);
medical instruments for microsurgical procedures
• Market Potential
• Increased degree of integration in complex electrical and electronic systems in the next few
years; further use in surgery

20. Applications
• Technology
• Electrorheological and magneto-rheological materials
• How it Works
• An electrical voltage or magnetic field causes the
reversible solidification of liquids by making
microscopic particles in the liquid link up
• Possible Applications
• Exact adjustment of shock absorbers to road
surfaces; hydraulic valves; control using tactile
joysticks (force feedback); movement control of knee
and joint prostheses
• Existing Applications
• Introduction of the first products in the next months
• Market Potential Growing potential in the next few years

21. Applications
• Technology
• Magnetostrictive materials
• How it Works
• React with an increase in
length even at weak
magnetic fields (similar to
piezo)
• Possible Applications Use as
actuators, sensors, vibration
dampers
• Existing Applications Sensor
for shop security
• Market Potential Mass-
produced articles in a few areas

22. Applications
• Technology Photo/ thermo/ electrochromic
materials
• How it Works Materials that change their color
or transparency according to the effect of light,
heat, or electric fields
• Possible Applications Climate-controlling
windows that control the sunlight coming into a
building or a car; changing the light-absorbing
properties of photovoltaic facilities
• Existing Applications Prototype climate-
controlling windows and photovoltaic glass
• Market Potential Increasing importance,
especially in the area of energy optimization for
buildings

23. Applications
• Technology Glass fiber sensors
• How it Works External influences change the propagation of
light in the fiber
• Possible Applications Detection of temperature variations,
pressure, mechanical stresses, vibrations, accelerations,
magnetic fields
• Existing Applications Various prototypes
• Market Potential First applications in coming years

24. Applications
• Technology Hollow fibers and microcapsules
• How it Works Hollow fibers or capsules in a
material release fluid/active ingredients when
they are destroyed
• Possible Applications Emergency lubricants
in cutting or grinding tools; plastics that heal
themselves by releasing liquid adhesive in
hairline cracks
• Existing Applications S e l f- h e a l i n g
materials; capsules with emergency
lubricants; wax-filled capsules with a heat-
insulating effect; corrosion prevention
• Market Potential Established mass-
produced item; a large number of new
products and applications in the next few
years

25. Fluorescent light-emitting materials
November 2, 2003 |
Siemens researcher Wolfgang Rossner
studies new fluorescent light-emitting
materials. Development of the materials has
been accelerated thanks to the use of
simulation and automated robotic testing.
These technologies have made it possible to
test some 150,000 material combinations in
only two years. Until recently, two decades
would have been required to achieve the
same result.