Phase change materials, or PCMs, can capture, store, and release energy during a phase transition. If we would like to use this concept in a temperature-regulating fluid, we need to disperse the PCMs into a liquid, such as water, that in itself has a high heat capacity and thus the ability to store energy.

Water-based pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are typically made by emulsion polymerization using a low glass transition temperature base monomer, such as n-butyl acrylate or 2-ethyl hexylacrylate, together with a range of functional comonomers. Typically these include a high glass transition temperature comonomer, such as styrene or methyl methacrylate and monomers that can promote wetting and undergo secondary interactions such as (meth)acrylic acid.

A fresh lick of paint breathes new life into a tired looking place. Ever wondered how a thin layer of paint is so effective in hiding what lies underneath from vision? Beside colour pigments, and a binder that makes it stick, paints contain microscopic particles that are great at scattering light and turning that thin layer of paint opaque. The golden standard for these opacifiers is small titanium dioxide particles, of dimensions considerably smaller than one micron. Their use is not without controversy, as they pose a significant environmental burden, with a substantial carbon footprint and a questionable impact on human health. Ideally, though, titanium dioxide should be replaced, but the list of safe, high refractive materials is very limited. Here we provide a potential solution.

Ross Jaggers and prof.dr.ir. Stefan Bon at BonLab have now developed technology that allows for temporal and spatial programming of hydrogel objects, which we made from the biopolymer sodium alginate. Key to its design was the combined use of enzyme and metal-chelation know-how.