(NETWORK INDIANA) If you try to bend your smartphone, it’s probably going to break.
Scientists at Purdue University are working on a new type of bendable plastic that can conduct electricity, which could possibly be used in making future smartphones.
“It’s electrically conductive, super transparent, and it’s remarkably stable to air, water, and other moisture conditions,” said Chemical Engineering professor Brett Savoie in a video on Purdue’s YouTube channel.
The flexible polymer film, as Savoie calls it, could also be cheaper than the rigid plastic used to make smartphones today, or “ITO”.
“In terms of cost, our polymer is potential much less expensive than ITO,” Savie said. “However our material is not as conductive (of electricity) as ITO.”
Savoie said once the polymer is perfected and can be further developed through patents, it could eventually be worn as a nearly invisible patch on a person’s skin.