New "Smart" material can switch from soft to hard and back again

A new material created at the University of Waterloo can switch back and forth between a hard solid or a soft gel at the same temperature, a breakthrough that offers an innovative solution to a long-standing challenge with synthetic materials by giving it both strength and shape adaptability.

The two overlapping states of sal-gel, as researchers call it, pave the way for its use as a smart material in a range of technologies including soft robotics, adhesion and adhesives, and aeronautics.