Bipyrazole Organic Crystals

July 27, 2021

Researchers who are working at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata in association with IIT Kharagpur have developed self-repairing piezoelectric molecular crystals. These crystals are called bipyrazole organic crystals.

Usage of Bipyrazole Organic Crystals

When it undergoes a mechanical impact piezoelectric crystals generate electricity. Daily usage devices break down often due to mechanical damage, forcing the users to either replace or repair. Thus, equipment life decreases and the maintenance costs go up. In a lot of cases, human intervention for replacement and restoration is not possible. So, keeping these factors in mind, the scientists have developed piezoelectric molecules which are also called bipyrazole organic crystals to recombine the mechanical fracture without the need of any external intervention, self-healing in milliseconds. This material will find application in various high-end micro-chips, actuators, high precision mechanical sensors, micro-robotics, etc. Further research may eventually lead to the development of self-repairing smart gadgets.

How does it work?

Due to the property of generating electrical charges on receiving any mechanical impact, the broken pieces generate electrical charges at the junction of the crack which leads to attraction between the damaged parts which the causes a precise autonomous repair.

Conclusion

This research has been supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), under the government’s Ministry of Science and Technology. Through DSTs Swarnajayanti Fellowship and Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) grants this project has been supported. The reports of this project have been published in the journal named “Science.”

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