You read that right, a broken phone screen can repair itself!

With the advancement of science and technology, smart phones have become a must-have for modern people. We can not go out, we can not socialize, but we must not live without our mobile phones. But when our mobile phone accidentally falls to the ground and the screen is smashed, whether it is to repair the screen or go directly to a new mobile phone, it is not low, and it is heartache. But scientists have found a new, better option for us – a phone screen that can repair itself!

Broken screen of mobile phone (Image source: Ver Gallery)

How does the phone screen heal itself?

The self-repair of mobile phone screens should start from a new type of living functional material.

Recently, scientists have used the "liquid-liquid phase separation" technology of protein molecules to develop a microcarrier bioreactor - the so-called microcarrier refers to the cell culture process, because cells often need to adhere to certain surfaces to grow, so put into some micron-sized small particles, which can greatly increase the surface area for cell growth in the dish, convenient for large-scale cell culture. The so-called bioreactor refers to equipment that can provide an appropriate environment for certain biochemical reactions, which can simulate the function of organisms and allow cells to carry out biochemical reactions in it, such as the fermentation tank of winemaking is a bioreactor. While the two have been separated, the recently developed new microcarrier bioreactor is hollow and contains various active substances needed by the organism to react, and these active substances can move freely inside the microcarrier. In this way, this microcarrier bioreactor has both catalytic capabilities and the ability to culture cells on a large scale.

At the same time, with microcarriers as the medium, a bioconversion reactor system is constructed, which can realize the rapid transfer of microbial energy and the efficient conversion of substances in microscale space, and greatly improve the efficiency of biocatalysis. The material has good biocompatibility and adjustable functions, and can be extended to the preparation of new living materials in the fields of biosensing and self-healing, thus opening up new ideas for the manufacture of chemicals and materials for future life. The material was successfully used in the efficient biosynthesis of phenylethanol molecules, and its production efficiency was increased by a factor of 12.

Schematic diagram of the production of functional living materials (Image source: Reference 1)

In addition, living functional materials can also be loaded with different bioactive materials, and developed into different functional substances, and then 3D printed to form different shapes of substances. It can be seen that if the active functional material is used to make the mobile phone screen, when it is broken, it will start the self-repair function to become intact, and then we no longer have to worry about the mobile phone broken screen!

3D printing (Image source: veer gallery)

What other smart materials are there?

Warm clothes

Presumably, everyone wants to wear intelligent temperature changing clothing so that the body is not hot in summer and not cold in winter. Scientists have developed automatic temperature changing materials to turn temperature changing clothes into reality. This material is mainly based on wool, on which a layer of ultra-thin metal material is coated, using the conductive properties of metal, when the human body temperature is too high, the clothes will shrink and discharge heat from the body; When the temperature of the human body is too low, the clothes will expand and absorb the energy from the outside world. This makes it possible to automatically adjust the temperature under too cold or hot conditions, making the body more comfortable.

Temperatured clothes (Image source: Ver Gallery)

Smart self-cleaning glass

Glass is an important part of buildings, with the increasing number of buildings, the proportion of glass is increasing, and the demand for glass cleaning is increasing. The emergence of self-cleaning glass has greatly reduced the dangerous operation of high-rise facades. Scientists coated the outer layer of transparent glass with hydrophilic photocatalytic mineral materials, and when the ultraviolet rays in the sunlight radiate to the window, the material will decompose the dirt after being irradiated, making the glass surface hydrophilic. When rain strikes, a water film is formed on the glass surface to effectively reduce dirt.

Clean the glass (Image source: Ver Gallery)

Technology changes life, innovation leads the future! It is believed that with the deepening of scientists' research, more and more new materials that are conducive to our lives will come out. In the future, we must maintain our love and curiosity for life, and go on with a heart of continuous exploration! Let's look forward to a better future together!

Bibliography:

[1] Ou, Y., Cao, S., Zhang, Y. et al. Bioprinting microporous functional living materials from protein-based core-shell microgels. Nat Commun 14, 322 (2023).

[2] DUAN Qiongjuan, WANG Biao, WANG Huaping. Research progress of self-cleaning glass. New Chemical Materials 9, 3 (2009).

[3] Gong Jixian. Current situation and prospect of smart clothing. Modern Textile Technology, 12(1):3 2004.

Produced by: Popular Science China

Author: Haruka Shiki

Executive Producer: China Science Expo