Strong, durable materials are hard to recycle — they’re designed to stand up to abuse. But research chemists at an IBM laboratory have discovered by accident, a never-before-seen family of polymers that’s super strong, self-healing, lightweight, and easy to recycle. Scientists have discovered a new class of polymer that can revolutionize manufacturing in the aerospace, semiconductors, automobile and micro-electronics industries.
Dr Jeannette Garcia was mixing up a standard recipe for a plastic polymer at an IBM lab when she inadvertently left out an ingredient. When she returned to the beaker later, the liquid mix had turned into a white plastic so strong, it couldn’t be removed with a grinder. The beaker had to be smashed with a hammer to get the polymer out. IBM says Dr Garcia’s plastic is the first distinctly new type of polymer created in decades — most of the new polymers created in recent years are simply variations on materials synthesized many years ago. The new family, code-named “Titan”, is a type of thermoset polymer, formed under heat to create a 3D network of bonds that’s as rigid as bone. Unlike other types of thermoset polymers, however, IBM’s accidental discovery is recyclable, a huge and unexpected benefit in a class of materials built to be ultra-tough. “
19-May-14 
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