GCSE and A level chemistry exam revision notes on smart materials and some high performance polymer materials

INDEX of Smart Materials and Materials Science

What are smart materials? Why are they so useful?

Applications - what are they used for? I have also mentioned 'high performance' materials - pretty smart in their particular way!

Sub-index of Smart Materials Notes

Examples of Smart Materials and 'smart effects' and other examples of 'Materials Science'

First, a short INTRODUCTION to SMART MATERIALS

When something changes about a smart material, it changes too!

• Smart materials are materials that have a property that can be significantly changed in a controlled way by external stimuli.

  • The external stimulus causing the change in the materials properties maybe stress e.g. bending or compression, change in light intensity, a temperature change, coming into contact with moisture, pH of a contact solution, electric potential difference (p.d./voltage, electric charge effect), or a strong magnetic field.

• This means smart materials change in response to changing conditions (a 'stimulus') in their surroundings or by the application of other direct influences.

• The induced change in the property of the smart material might be in its electrical behaviour e.g. its electrical resistance, its mechanical-structural properties e.g. flexibility or strength, optical e.g. change in light transmittance, magnetic behaviour etc....

  • ... any of which change the way the material functions in response to the stimulus.

• In a 'nutshell' smart materials can change their state, and therefore their properties, in response to an external stimulus.

• If the stimulus is removed, the smart material returns to its original state

• There is now a huge variety of smart materials with different special properties that make a particular material well suited to a particular specific use.

• Other materials e.g. high performance polymers, are also described in this section even though are not strictly speaking 'smart materials', but they have been included under the more general heading of 'materials science'.

Part 1 CHROMOGENIC MATERIALS - Thermochromic, Photochromic & Electrochromic Materials

Part 2 SHAPE MEMORY ALLOYS e.g. Nitinol & Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys

Part 3 SHAPE MEMORY POLYMERS, pH and temperature sensitive-responsive polymers, Self-healing materials

Part 4 LYCRA-SPANDEX

Part 5 High performance polymers like KEVLAR

Part 6 GORETEX, THINSULATE and TEFLON-PTFE

Part 7 PIEZOELECTRIC EFFECT (PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS) and PHOTOMECHANICAL MATERIALS

Part 8 CARBON FIBRES

See also A general survey of materials - natural & synthetic, their properties and uses

More on polymers GCSE/IGCSE notes poly(ethene), poly(propene), polystyrene, PVC

GCSE/IGCSE Notes on Nylon, Terylene and A Level Notes on poly(propene)

NANOMATERIALS including carbon nanotubes, carbon fibres, silver nanoparticles etc.

More on chemistry applications: Uses of 220+ chemical elements, compounds, mixtures & Formulation chemistry

Smart Materials keyword index

CARBON FIBRES * CHROMOGENIC MATERIALS * ELECTROCHROMIC MATERIALS

GORETEX * HALOCHROMIC MATERIALS  * HIGH PERFORMANCE POLYMERS

KEVLAR * LYCRA * MAGNETIC SHAPE MEMORY ALLOYS

MAGNETOSTRICTIVE MATERIALS * NITINOL * pH SENSITIVE POLYMERS

PHOTOCHROMIC MATERIALS * PHOTOMECHANICAL MATERIALS

PIEZO ELECTRIC EFFECT-MATERIALS * PTFE * SELF-HEALING MATERIALS

SHAPE MEMORY ALLOYS * SHAPE MEMORY POLYMERS * SPANDEX * TEFLON

TEMPERATURE-RESPONSIVE POLYMERS * THERMOCHROMIC MATERIALS

THINSULATE

See also General survey of materials - natural & synthetic, properties and uses

Nanochemistry keyword index

boron nitride * Buckminsterfullerenes-bucky balls * carbon nanotubes * fat nanoparticles

fluorographene * fullerenes * graphene * health and safety issues * liposomes * nanochemistry

nanomaterials * nanoparticles * nanoscale * nanoscience * nanosize-nanosized-particles

nanostructures * nanotechnology * nanotubes * problems in nanomaterial use

silver nanoparticles * safety issues * sunscreens-sunblockers * titanium dioxide

See also General survey of materials - natural & synthetic, properties and uses