This week in adhesives news around the web, researchers in France explore more efficient smart materials for energy harvesting.

A group of smart materials known as "electrostrictive polymers" have been explored for years by researchers at the INSA de Lyon for their potential mechanical energy harvesting abilities. As a group of smart materials, electrostrictive polymers can produce field-induced strain when exposed to an applied external electric field. The researchers recently reported that introducing a plasticizer into these materials offers an efficient way to improve their mechanical energy harvesting performance in the journal Applied Physics Letters. This is a significant breakthrough because one of the biggest challenges for the development of mechanical energy harvesting via electrostrictive polymers is being able to improve their performance.

Read the full story here.

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3)       DuPont Researchers Develop a Method to Produce FDME from Fructose

Are you interested in news stories on a particular topic? Send your suggestions to Morgan Laidlaw at laidlawm@bnpmedia.com.