More durable tires may result from an MIT discovery that makes plastic break the right way, absorb impacts at 750 meters per second, and reduce wear related to microplastics.

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 03/06/2026 at 15:28

Be the first to react!

Study published in Nature shows that MIT researchers managed to increase the resistance of polymers by inserting sacrificial chemical bonds, a strategy that dissipated supersonic impacts in laboratory tests and may guide new applications in electronic covers, soles, industrial materials, and tires less prone to wear.

Tires may gain a new generation of more durable rubbers from an MIT discovery published on June 3 in Nature: common polymers became more resistant when designed to break at specific chemical points.

The research stems from an everyday problem. Cell phone drops, collisions with rigid objects, and skids on highways concentrate energy in small areas. In tires, this type of stress can release tiny rubber fragments into the air.

How researchers made plastic more resistant

The team worked with weakened chemical bonds, called mechanophores. They were distributed in polymers to act as sacrificial points. When a crack begins to advance, these bonds break first and divert part of the energy.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Test simulated impacts at supersonic speed

To measure the effect, the researchers used the Laser-Induced Projectile Impact Test, known by the acronym LIPIT. The system launched small silica spheres against thin films of modified plastic.

The microspheres hit the materials at 750 meters per second, a speed exceeding 1,600 miles per hour. Under these conditions, common polystyrene shattered or was easily pierced.

The mechanophore-crosslinked polystyrene absorbed more impact energy than standard polystyrene. During the impact, researchers observed local heating of the material and the formation of a “mobile zone”.

In this zone, the mechanophore bonds break selectively due to the force. The destructive energy is then consumed in this controlled breakage, instead of passing through the material and causing larger failures.

Keith Nelson, senior author of the study, explained that the method allowed extracting information from the velocities of the particles before and after penetration in thin layers, as well as revealing deformation patterns during and after the impact.

Tires are among the applications under study

After the tests with polystyrene, the team replicated the effect in styrene-butadiene-styrene rubber, known as SBS. This material is used in shoe soles, asphalt, and roofing.

Now, researchers are exploring the application of the strategy in styrene-butadiene rubber for vehicle tires. The possibility is interesting because tire wear accounts for at least 10% of microplastics in the world.

If the technology advances, more resistant tires could suffer less wear and have a lower risk of blowouts. The same principle can also be applied to protective covers for electronics and plastic objects exposed to impact.

The next step will be to verify if the behavior observed in thin films can be reproduced in larger formulations, compatible with industrial uses and continuous performance safety requirements.

It is still a developing line of research, tested in the laboratory with thin films and microprojectiles. However, the advancement shows an alternative to the traditional search for merely harder plastics.

Instead of trying to prevent any breakage, MIT demonstrated that selective breakage can be part of the solution. For tires and other polymers, resistance may depend precisely on knowing where the material should yield.

0 Comments

most recent

older Most voted

More durable tires may result from an MIT discovery that makes plastic break the right way, absorb impacts at 750 meters per second, and reduce wear related to microplastics.

How researchers made plastic more resistant

Test simulated impacts at supersonic speed

Tires are among the applications under study

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Brazil will harvest a record crop of up to 357 million tons of grains, but it does not have the capacity to store a large part of it. The storage deficit has reached the highest level in history and is equivalent to almost the entire production of Argentina.

Four times faster than the Concorde, capable of taking passengers from New York to London in less than an hour at Mach 5.5, and with an engine that switches from turbojet to ramjet mid-flight at Mach 3.5, the Hermeus Quarterhorse went from paper to its first flight in just 19 months.

Under nearly 2 kilometers of ice in Antarctica, scientists have discovered an ancient landscape sculpted by rivers up to 60 million years ago, the size of Wales, preserved as a time capsule that could help predict the advance of ice towards the ocean.

She started by collecting oyster shells from restaurants and today she has already accumulated more than 10 tons to restore reefs, recover coastal habitats, and demonstrate how a common waste can become a tool for ocean conservation.

SpaceX will dock a $843 million vehicle to the International Space Station to push a nearly 420-ton laboratory against the atmosphere and make the debris fall in a controlled manner into the ocean.

Russia offered India around 40 fifth-generation stealth fighters Su-57, with technology transfer and rare access to the aircraft’s source code, in a proposal gaining momentum amid the arms race in South Asia and the military rapprochement between China and Pakistan.

The end of the traditional bathroom cabinet: new trend saves space, makes cleaning easier, and gives the environment a more modern look in 2026

Forget the brick: A company from Santa Catarina has created a recycled plastic block that eliminates the need for cement and mortar, assembled like interlocking modules, and according to the manufacturer, is more resistant than conventional brick and concrete block.

Already authorized in some European countries, the so-called plastic heart adapts to each patient’s physical activities and, according to scientists, could transform the treatment of heart diseases in the coming decades and increase survival chances around the world.

More durable tires may result from an MIT discovery that makes plastic break the right way, absorb impacts at 750 meters per second, and reduce wear related to microplastics.

How researchers made plastic more resistant

Test simulated impacts at supersonic speed

Tires are among the applications under study

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Brazil will harvest a record crop of up to 357 million tons of grains, but it does not have the capacity to store a large part of it. The storage deficit has reached the highest level in history and is equivalent to almost the entire production of Argentina.

Four times faster than the Concorde, capable of taking passengers from New York to London in less than an hour at Mach 5.5, and with an engine that switches from turbojet to ramjet mid-flight at Mach 3.5, the Hermeus Quarterhorse went from paper to its first flight in just 19 months.

Under nearly 2 kilometers of ice in Antarctica, scientists have discovered an ancient landscape sculpted by rivers up to 60 million years ago, the size of Wales, preserved as a time capsule that could help predict the advance of ice towards the ocean.

She started by collecting oyster shells from restaurants and today she has already accumulated more than 10 tons to restore reefs, recover coastal habitats, and demonstrate how a common waste can become a tool for ocean conservation.

SpaceX will dock a $843 million vehicle to the International Space Station to push a nearly 420-ton laboratory against the atmosphere and make the debris fall in a controlled manner into the ocean.

Russia offered India around 40 fifth-generation stealth fighters Su-57, with technology transfer and rare access to the aircraft’s source code, in a proposal gaining momentum amid the arms race in South Asia and the military rapprochement between China and Pakistan.

Already authorized in some European countries, the so-called plastic heart adapts to each patient’s physical activities and, according to scientists, could transform the treatment of heart diseases in the coming decades and increase survival chances around the world.

A 65,000-kilometer scar hidden at the bottom of the ocean reveals how the Earth continues to slowly open up as scientists observe the gigantic underwater ridge that has been reshaping continents for millions of years.

China has even created a degree in rare earths to train specialists in the minerals that power electric cars, turbines, airplanes, and military radars, while the West tries to catch up.

Russia offered India around 40 fifth-generation stealth fighters Su-57, with technology transfer and rare access to the aircraft’s source code, in a proposal gaining momentum amid the arms race in South Asia and the military rapprochement between China and Pakistan.

The end of the traditional bathroom cabinet: new trend saves space, makes cleaning easier, and gives the environment a more modern look in 2026

Forget the brick: A company from Santa Catarina has created a recycled plastic block that eliminates the need for cement and mortar, assembled like interlocking modules, and according to the manufacturer, is more resistant than conventional brick and concrete block.

Already authorized in some European countries, the so-called plastic heart adapts to each patient’s physical activities and, according to scientists, could transform the treatment of heart diseases in the coming decades and increase survival chances around the world.