In modern science, materials are considered one of the three main pillars. In the 21st century, new materials with high performance and multifunctionality have become the focus of scientific research, serving as a measure of scientific and technical progress as well as the comprehensive strength of a nation.
Current hot topics in materials science include: nanomaterials (for the creation of extremely small objects), superconductors (which allow extremely high currents to flow due to almost no resistance), biomaterials, electronic materials, and optoelectronic materials.
The strategic new materials that countries are currently emphasizing mainly consist of three types: high-performance functional materials, advanced ceramics, and composite materials. In the first eight months of this year, the commercial value of these three material groups worldwide exceeded 220 billion USD, with an average growth rate of 10-15% per year before 2008. Industries such as energy, environment, electronics, automotive, aerospace, engines, machinery, electrical appliances, architecture, marine, and light industry are all fields that demand many alternative materials, making the development of substitute materials a hot topic in many countries.
Superconducting materials significantly enhance energy utilization efficiency, greatly impacting infrastructure investment directions. For example, high-speed electric vehicles (traveling at 400-500 km/h) that run on magnetic levitation will completely transform the maritime and railway transport sectors and infrastructure. Since the mid-1980s, over 100 types of biomaterials have been developed, with one-third already commercialized. For example, a high-adhesive bio-adhesive developed by a company in Maryland, USA, is made from a type of marine bacteria, which is fermented to produce the adhesive. This adhesive can be used to bond boats, spacecraft, corrosion-resistant equipment, and in clinical medicine…
In the 1980s, American and British scientists discovered “carbon 60” in chimney soot, a form of carbon composed of 60 molecules with a structure unlike that of graphite and diamond, yet entirely made of carbon. Carbon 60 is an extraordinary material that could serve as a fundamental element for developing thousands of new materials. For instance, adding elements like Barium, Strontium, Ytterbium, and Uranium to the molecular structure of carbon 60 can produce unprecedented materials with features such as superconductivity, extreme hardness, wear resistance, radiation protection, semiconductivity, and high-temperature resistance.
Since the 1990s, countries have achieved breakthroughs in nanomaterials, advancing the development of new materials into a new phase. It is expected that in the next 5-10 years, high-energy materials suitable for nanotechnology will emerge, with a hardness 11 times that of steel but extremely lightweight, weighing only 1/10th of a sheet of paper.
The widespread adoption of telecommunications technology is rapidly innovating electronic materials. Scientists have developed low-cost plastic materials that can replace silicon in the production of integrated circuits. American and European researchers are working on creating microprocessor chips made from much cheaper plastic materials while achieving processing speeds and functionalities comparable to silicon-based chips. Recently, Philips (Netherlands) has used plastic as a semiconductor material in manufacturing computer screens instead of silicon. This method does not require many processes and has less stringent cleanroom requirements, making production simpler than silicon-based integrated circuits, thus making this technology very suitable for large screen production. The cost advantage of plastic-based chips is significant. Currently, the investment cost for a silicon semiconductor chip manufacturing plant can reach up to 3 billion USD, resulting in a chip costing several dollars, whereas using plastic can reduce the cost to just a few cents. It is projected that the total output of plastic-based chips will average 15 billion USD annually until 2008.
Experts in organic semiconductor materials believe that electronic products made from plastic are bound to become a promising market for the future.
