Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Material zips itself back together thanks to the power of attraction

The forces that hold molecules together make a severed material whole again.
p(MMA/nBA) copolymer self-healing

A sample of self-healing material mends itself after being cut by a razor blade. Credit: M. W. Urban et al./Science

A material made from commonly available industrial chemicals independently heals itself after being cut or scratched.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 562, 310 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07010-y

References

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links