(June 24, 2015) It
took marine sponges millions of years to perfect their spike-like structures,
but research mimicking these formations may soon alter how industrial coatings
and 3-D printed to additively manufactured objects are produced.
A molecular process developed by researchers at the
Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, paves the way for
improved silica structure design by introducing microscopic, segmented
screw-like spikes that can more effectively bond materials for commercial use.
The study, conducted by Jaswinder Sharma and his colleagues
Panos Datskos and David Cullen, has been published in Angewandte Chemie International
Edition. Authors said other applications of the screw-like spikes could include
coatings for eyeglasses, television screens, commercial transportation and even
self-cleaning windows and roofs in rural and urban environments.