polymerguru

Innovative housewares brand finum®, known for its patented tea and coffee filters and pots, has launched its first multifunctional tumbler, Traveler Zita™, for perfect leaf tea making while travelling. Riensch & Held GmbH & Co.KG selected Eastman Tritan™ copolyester for both the Tea Control™ Kit and the double-wall tumbler, due to its clarity, dishwasher proof durability and because it is Bisphenol A (BPA)-free. "We needed a polymer material which resists the temperature changes that occur during tea brewing," says Christian J. Justus, finum® Managing Partner, Riensch & Held. "It also had to be unaffected by dishwashing, be taste-free, easy to clean, and tough enough to withstand rough usage and still look appealing." "We found that Eastman Tritan™ copolyester easily meets all these parameters. It's also BPA-free, and has been evaluated and received food contact clearances from the European Commission and United States Food and Drug...

Scientists at TU/e for the first time succeeded in creating a plastic that emits light when pulled. The researchers can make the plastic emit red, yellow, blue and green light. The results were published online in Nature Chemistry this week. The researchers incorporate an additional element in the plastic molecules, a molecular ring called dioxetane. When the plastic is pulled hard enough, the ring breaks open and emits light. The plastic only gives light as long as it is pulled. When the plastic is completely torn apart, a flash of light is seen because a lot of molecular rings break at the same time. Tensile strength: The research has mainly been driven by fundamental scientific questions. The researchers were looking for possibilities of mechanical forces to unlock new types of chemistry, says Professor of Supramolecular Polymer Chemistry Rint Sijbesma. However, he does see a very suitable application of the invention. The transmitted light makes it possible to very accuratel...

DSM has been working with the Dutch Olympic Team, applying their material expertise in order to make the best rowing boat possible for the London Olympics 2012. To achieve this they turned to TeXtreme® Spread Tow Fabrics as the choice of carbon reinforcement. The result is a faster boat as a direct consequence of reduced weight and increased stiffness. Edwin Hendriks, Project Manager Building, Infrastructure and Sport at DSM comments: "To improve the performance of the Dutch Olympic rowing boat, we used TeXtreme® carbon fabric in combination with DSM's styrene-free Turane resins. The interaction between these two is exceptionally strong. This resulted in an increased rigidity (25% more stiffness) and a lower weight of the boat, allowing for a different construction that increased the stiffness even more. The new boat deforms less in the water at every powerful stroke of the rowers, and as such can better maintain its speed." In the months leading up to London 201...

Gucci is pleased to announce the launch of Sustainable Soles, a special edition of eco-friendly women's and men's shoes designed by Creative Director Frida Giannini and part of the Prefall 2012 Collection. This new project conveys the House's mission to interpret in a responsible way the modern consumer's desire for sustainable fashion products, all the while maintaining the balance between the timeless values of style and utmost quality with an ever-growing green vision. The Sustainable Soles include the Marola Green ballerinas for her and the California Green sneakers for him, both realized in bio-plastic — a biodegradable material in compost used as an alternative to petrochemical plastic.

With the electric vehicle (EV) production set to grow at a CAGR of over 80 per cent until 2017, plastics used in these vehicles will also see a tremendous growth. The need to increase EV mile range, paralleled by the inherent advantages of plastics — particularly that of lightweight — will drive penetration rates. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of Plastics in the Electric Vehicles Market in Europe and North America, finds that the market earned revenues of $ 0.5 million in 2010 and estimates this to reach $ 73 million in 2017. The research covers power train plastics, battery casing plastics, thermal management system materials and wire and cable plastic materials. As the electric vehicles market takes off, it is set to have a positive ripple effect on the uptake of plastics. "Plastics for EVs are driven by light weighting trends which, in turn, are fuelled by the need to improve EV mile range," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analys...