Researchers at University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) have created a material made from nanofibers that can stretch to up to seven times its length while remaining tougher than Kevlar.
These structures absorb up to 98 joules per gram. Kevlar, often used to make bulletproof vests, can absorb up to 80 joules per gram. The researchers hope the structures will one day form material that can reinforce itself at points of high stress and could potentially be used in military airplanes or other defense applications.
Image: SEM micrographs of a coil fabricated from aligned nanofibers (credit: (credit: Mahmoud Baniasadi et al./ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces)
