Microcapsules: The building block of self-healing materials

Thakare, Dhawal

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/103687 Copy

Description

Title

Microcapsules: The building block of self-healing materials

Author(s)

Thakare, Dhawal

Contributor(s)

Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology

Issue Date

2019

Keyword(s)

Mechanical Science and Engineering

Abstract

Can you imagine materials healing themselves when they are cracked? Guess what, it is possible! Self-healing materials do exist, and do you want to know how they work? These materials are embedded with tiny microscopic containers called microcapsules which are carefully engineered to encapsulate healing agents. My research focusses on designing and synthesizing these microcapsules. The image above shows one such microcapsule which has been cut open and imaged under a fancy microscope which allows us to see very small things! Thousands of such microcapsules are uniformly embedded into the material when it is being manufactured. Subsequently during use, when there is any damage to the material, the capsules are broken and the healing agents are released, thus healing the damage, very similar to as shown in the image. The current phase of my research focusses on developing special microcapsules which can release their healing agents in response to acidity instead of waiting to be broken through damage. This would then extend its application to other fields like targeted drug delivery where precise dosage of medicine can be delivered at target locations when the capsules encounter a specific acidic environment, say in the stomach.

Type of Resource

• text
• image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/103687

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2019 Dhawal Thakare

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