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New Nanopaper is Stronger Than Iron, Still Made of Wood

By Carl Alviani - June 24, 2008

in Materials

Nanotechnology, for all its recent growth and vibrant promise, still feels very sci-fi to us laypersons, what with all those buckytubes and nanoceramics. Lars Berglund of Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology, though, is bringing the nanotech treatment to thoroughly familiar, if not boring, material: paper. By processing wood pulp with enzymes and high-pressure microfluidic chambers, he's been able to create paper with dramatically finer strands, offering some impressive improvements in mechanical characteristics. According to the article in MIT Technology Review, this "nanopaper" is "stronger than cast iron and tougher than bone," featuring a tear strength seven times that of conventional paper, and the ability to stretch by 10% before failure.

Applications suggested include extra-tough filters, membranes, packaging, and mechanical parts -- making that paper-core messenger bike in Gibson's Virtual Light one step closer to feasible.

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kevin

15 years ago

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i wonder what the paper cut would feel like
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Chris Tu

16 years ago

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I'm not sure this is really good for our future.
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Carl Alviani

16 years ago

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@BobN: Referring to the article, the nannopaper is still made of cellulose, a biodegradable material. While it does not specifically address the issue of composting, it does mention that its mechanical properties deteriorate in water, just as normal paper does. I would be surprised if composting time is significantly longer than for any other type of uncoated paper product.
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BobN

16 years ago

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And it composts in how many centuries???
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Daniel Cole

16 years ago

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Interesting thanks! Will have to show this to my chemistry class.
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