Ultra-Strong Plastic Polymers
When studying ultra-resistant materials, the conversation often veers toward hard metals, from ordinary iron to more exotic titanium, tungsten, or rhenium (follow the link for a dedicated investment report for each).
But this is not the only form of ultra-strong material. Another option is to use strong polymers, especially for applications where weight and flexibility are important as well, not just pure hardness and high melting point.
One such well-known material is Kevlar. The DuPont (DD -0.29%) owned material is most famous for its use in bulletproof vests and is also used for ropes, industrial and emergency protective equipment, aerospace, fiber optics, and even outdoor consumer products.
Source: DuPont
The secret to Kevlar strength is a dense mesh of molecular bonds on a tight 2D plane, including hydrogen bonds and many aromatic rings (hexagons made of carbons), somewhat similar to natural silk, except even stronger.
Source: Wikipedia
There is however no physics rule saying that Kevlar is the strongest polymer material. An even stronger alternative has been discovered by researchers at Duke University, Cornell University, and Northwestern University.
They released their results in the prestigious publication Science under the title “Mechanically interlocked two-dimensional polymers”1.
A New Type Of Polymer Chainmail
Kevlar derives its strength from molecular bonds in a 2D plane. But generally, the strongest materials tend to have a more complex 3D structure.
For example, chainmail as a whole is much stronger than the individual rings forming it. And this is the design that the researchers looked to imitate, but with polymers and at the molecular level.
The idea was to create an ultra-thin mechanically interlocked material.
Source: Northwestern University
Inventing A New Manufacturing Method
In itself, the interlocking bond idea is not new, but it was never produced reliably or at scale until now. The problem was that creating this mechanical (and not chemical) interlocking was very difficult. Most materials simply would not do it.
The researchers took a novel approach of using X-shaped monomers (a monomer is the individual building block of polymers). Each monomer was then arranged in a very organized crystalline structure.
They then made the crystal react with another molecule, creating bonds within the crystal.
The end result was a complex structure made from multiple layers of 2D interlocked polymer sheets. This created “threads” of x-shaped monomers interlocked with each other mechanically, but not bonded chemically. This mix of mechanical locking and the ability to move against each other made the material surprisingly flexible.
“It’s similar to chainmail in that it cannot easily rip because each of the mechanical bonds has a bit of freedom to slide around.
If you pull it, it can dissipate the applied force in multiple directions. And if you want to rip it apart, you would have to break it in many, many different places.”
William Dichtel, Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University.
Record Performance & Scalability
The newly invented material displays as much as 100 trillion mechanical bonds per 1 square centimeter, the highest density of mechanical bonds ever achieved in material science. This result was double-checked by advanced electron microscopy techniques, visually confirming the interlocking structure.
To test how efficient this new material could be, the researchers tested its integration with a product in the same family as Kevlar: Ultem (polyetherimide), commercialized by Saudi petrochemical company SABIC.
Ultem is a plastic fiber with very strong heat and chemical resistance. It is used in many sectors like medical devices, electronics, automotive, chemical industry, and aerospace. It can also be used in 3D printing (additive) manufacturing.
ULTEM is among the few resins approved for use in the commercial aerospace sector. It beats out comparable thermoplastics when it comes to resisting creep, the tendency of materials to deform and degrade under repeated mechanical stress.
It also holds up well when brought into contact with various fuels, coolants, and lubricants. Its flame resistance ensures that it meets FAA regulation 25.853 for flammability.
Sybridge
This initial test of a composite material of 97.5% Ultem fiber and just 2.5% of the newly invented 2D polymer proved radically stronger. This increased the Ultem fiber’s tensile strength by 45% and resistance to stress by 22%.
Another key factor in potential usefulness for manufacturing is that the new material was produced in relatively large quantities, even in a lab’s experimental setting. The researchers made half a kilogram of the new material, a much larger quantity than previous polymers with mechanical bonds.
The method they developed can be used for mass production, as the successive steps of making a crystalline structure and then chemical bonds could be automatized and scaled up.
What’s Next?
The new material has only started to be analyzed by the researcher team.
So far, every parameter measured seems to point at the polymer to be extraordinarily strong, much more than any polymer material invented so far.
“We have a lot more analysis to do, but we can tell that it improves the strength of these composite materials. Almost every property we have measured has been exceptional in some way.”
William Dichtel, Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University.
Testing this material mixed in larger quantities with Ultem, as well as other advanced fibers, will likely be one of the first tests to be performed.
Pure fibers made from it should also be tested and compared to Kevlar and Ultem. The resistance to real-world conditions will also be valuable to fully evaluate the commercial potential of this product.
Applications
This discovery builds on the legacy of Northwestern University’s expertise in molecular bonds. It was there that Sir Fraser Stoddart invented molecular-scale mechanical bonds to create molecular machines that switch, rotate, contract, and expand in controllable ways.
Sir Stoddart was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery and was a mentor of William Ditchel when he was a postdoctoral researcher, the lead scientist behind the new “chainmail” polymer discovery.
Ditchel considers that the new polymer has great potential for lightweight body armor and ballistic fabrics. It is also likely that it could be useful for any other applications currently using Kevlar and/or Ultem.
The extreme strength, flexibility, and lightweight characteristics of the polymer could also open new applications where current polymers are not sufficient. For example, it could be integrated into rockets, spacesuits, batteries, etc.
One application that is however unlikely is 3D printing, as the additive manufacturing method of partially melting the plastic to give it its final shape would likely disrupt the 3D mechanical bonds of the polymer.
Investing In Polymers
The polymer market is massive, worth as much as $792B in 2024, and expected to grow 5.4% CAGR until 2034 to reach $1.3T.
Source: Precedence Research
You can invest in chemical companies through many brokers, and you can find here, on securities.io, our recommendations for the best brokers in the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, as well as many other countries.
If you are not interested in picking specific companies, you can also look into ETFs like the iShares STOXX Europe 600 Chemicals UCITS ETF (EXV7) or the Vanguard Materials ETF (VAW) which will provide a more diversified exposure to capitalize on the chemical industry.
Polymer Company
DuPont
DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (DD -0.29%)
DuPont is a massive chemical company with many important branded chemicals like for example Kevlar, Styrofoam, Nomex (fire protection), Great Stuff (construction adhesive), etc.
DuPont is an ancient corporation with a complex history of acquisitions, and more recently a series of spin-offs.
Source: DuPont
These spinoffs have separated from DuPont the departments of nutrition & bioscience partially sold to Corteva Biosciences (CTVA -0.29%), titanium products forming the Chemours Company (CC +0.23%), and mobility & material.
It will also separate from its electronic chemicals business in November 2025, but retain the water segment (membranes and filters for water purification and desalination), contrary to earlier plans.
Source: DuPont
This will leave DuPont a much more focused company, with a core activity in advanced polymers for water purification & protection equipment, as well as advanced materials for aerospace, healthcare, and electric vehicles.
Source: DuPont
DuPont is a truly international corporation, with high demand for specialty chemicals in water purification and industrial manufacturing.
The sectors served by DuPont chemicals are also very varied, including construction, water purification, electronic industry, automotive, aerospace, healthcare, green energy, and industrial production.
Source: DuPont
The strong presence of DuPont in protective equipment and the established position with the Kevlar brand should help it adapt to the incoming new polymer ultra-resistant fiber like the one discussed in this article. It is even likely that it could integrate such new materials into its Kevlar line by creating hybrid fibers containing both.
In any case, as new technologies are growing, as well as water consumption, so is the demand for the advanced chemicals produced by DuPont.
Study Reference:
1. Madison I. Bardot et al. (2025) Mechanically interlocked two-dimensional polymers.Science387,264-269. DOI:10.1126/science.ads4968
