KIEL, Germany - Researchers at Kiel University (Germany) have developed the first technology that is capable of joining materials with extremely low adhesion. The technology applies passive nano-scaled crystal linkers as internal staples. The nano staples open up solutions to a large number of technical challenges, for example in medical engineering. The work carried out within the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center 677 “Function by Switching” was published in the scientific journal Advanced Materials.
“If the nano staples make even extreme polymers like Teflon and silicone stick to each other, they can join all kinds of other plastic materials,” said Professor Rainer Adelung. Adelung is leading the functional nano materials group at the Institute of Materials Science in Kiel and lead the research project from the materials science side. The new technology of joining materials without chemical modifications can be used, according to Adelung, in a variety of everyday life and high tech applications. The technique is easy to use and does not need expensive equipment or material.