What matter will matter in the future?

Tony Stark’s first suit was crafted from the limited resources around him, including salvaged scrap metal and machine parts. Forty-one years, ten movies, and nineteen suits later, the composition consists of Smart Gold-Titanium Nano-Particles, giving him greater adaptability, durability, power, and flexibility. Science fiction? Sure. But the evolution of his suit to take advantage of the latest research in advanced physical, chemical, mechanical, and microstructural properties is very much in line with engineering practices.

There are many active research areas in advanced materials: multifunctional materials, bio-materials, and meta-materials. They will deliver results in the coming decades. Last but not least is nanotech materials, which are a hundred thousand times smaller than a single human hair. 

Nanotech is revolutionizing material science, as we know from science fiction. It offers game-changing options for material engineering.  Nanotech materials can be fluid, shaped, and even self-repairing. The sky is the limit. Theoretically, it is possible to engineer a nanomaterial that is as strong as steel and as soft as copper but uses only the sand on a beach. 

In an ongoing research project with a partner university, we are trying to determine how to change the nanostructure of the surface material to improve its optical performance. The goal is to absorb more UV light from the sun so that we can deliver more efficient solar cells. In other words, engineer the surface of the material the way we want it at the nano-level. 

Advances in manufacturing techniques will underpin the application of these new technologies. Using novel materials with additive and hybrid manufacturing will make for more efficient, lower waste products, highly customized design and production, and embedded electronics and sensors. 

Looking at the coming decade, all the advances mentioned above will have a significant impact on the way we design and manufacture our products, from self-sustaining materials, capable of harvesting and using energy, to self-healing materials, which will undergo self-generation in response to damage, as well as energy storage materials, actuators, sensors, and a universe of new applications. 

Sounds like science fiction? Probably. But it’s closer than many imagine, at least within our labs. But the actual challenge lies within the journey from lab to industrial use at scale. This is typically long and expensive so, while it won't reflect our reality tomorrow, the hope is that it will in the near future.

Each material research lab has the potential to open a world of new applications that we have yet to imagine. The cards are in our hands. Tony Stark is working on suit number twenty. And you? Let’s engineer the materials we want and put them into action.

Related resources:

• Want more articles like this - Draw Me a Future – download the complete series
• Innovation takes stamina - Research & Innovation at Capgemini Engineering