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Super-Foldable Glass-Like Plastic.
Xiong Lin1, Yu Wang1, Runlai Li1
1College of Polymer Science & Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymer Materials, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|May 23, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a novel glass-like plastic for flexible electronics. This durable material offers fatigue-free foldability, overcoming limitations of traditional glass and plastic films for advanced device applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Flexible electronics demand robust protective films resistant to fatigue and fracture.
- Ultrathin glass fails due to brittleness, while conventional plastics crease under dynamic stress.
- Existing materials lack the combined properties of hardness, transparency, and extreme foldability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer a novel glass-like plastic material with superior fatigue-free foldability.
- To address the limitations of current protective films for flexible electronic devices.
- To develop a material combining the desirable attributes of glass and plastic.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a nano-hybrid interpenetrating network using a plastic nanofibrous scaffold.
- Incorporation of an organic-inorganic silsesquioxane@nanosilica composite within the scaffold.
- Characterization of the material's mechanical, optical, and folding properties.
Main Results:
- The developed glass-like plastic exhibits glass-like transparency and hardness.
- The material demonstrates plastic-like elongation, impact resistance, and rubber-like resilience.
- Thin films (5-30 µm) withstood 500,000 folding cycles (0.5 mm radius) without defects.
Conclusions:
- The novel nano-hybrid material effectively inhibits fatigue relaxation, enabling exceptional dynamic foldability.
- This glass-like plastic overcomes the drawbacks of brittle glass and creasing plastics.
- The material shows significant promise for next-generation flexible electronic device applications.
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