U.S. Scientists Create Rubber That’s 10x Stronger and 4x More Crack-Resistant

Rubber has been part of human innovation for thousands of years, serving everything from the soles of our shoes to the tires that keep our cars moving. But one persistent weakness has always limited its performance—crack growth under repeated stress. Now, scientists in the United States have changed the game.

In a groundbreaking study led by Professor Zhigang Suo at Harvard University, researchers have developed a new kind of rubber that is not only 10 times stronger but also four times more resistant to cracking during repeated stretching. This breakthrough doesn’t just improve rubber’s strength—it redefines its potential in real-world applications.

The Problem with Traditional Rubber

Before diving into the science, let’s understand the challenge.

Natural rubber, sourced from the Hevea brasiliensis tree, is known for its flexibility and durability. However, it tends to crack over time, especially when stretched repeatedly. This problem limits the lifespan of products made from rubber, including tires, gloves, and seals.

The reason behind this lies in how rubber is processed. The traditional method, known as vulcanization, involves heating the rubber with sulfur to create a network of short polymer chains that are tightly bonded. While this gives rubber its elasticity, it also leads to weak spots that can crack under stress.

The Harvard Breakthrough: Meet the “Tanglemer”

So, how did the researchers make rubber tougher and more crack-resistant?

The team introduced a new kind of rubber called “tanglemer.” Think of it like a bowl of spaghetti—long, tangled polymer chains that are loosely entangled instead of tightly crosslinked. This structure allows the material to distribute stress more evenly.

By preserving these long polymer chains using a low-intensity latex-based processing method, the scientists were able to create a rubber that behaves very differently under pressure.

“We used a low-intensity processing method, based on latex processing methods, that preserved the long polymer chains,” explained Dr. Guodong Nian, the lead author of the study.

Why Is This Important?

The key lies in crack resistance. In most rubbers, once a small crack starts, it grows quickly with each stretch or pressure. Over time, this leads to failure. But in the new tanglemer rubber, cracks spread much more slowly.

Here’s how it works:

When the rubber is stretched, the long spaghetti-like chains can slide past each other, distributing the stress across a larger area.
This movement allows more of the rubber to crystallize as it stretches, which increases the material’s strength.
As a result, it becomes much harder for a crack to grow or worsen.

“We imagined that the properties would be enhanced maybe twice or three times,” said researcher Jianyu Chen, “but actually they were enhanced by one order of magnitude.”

That’s 10 times stronger and four times more resistant to crack growth—a massive leap forward.

The Science Behind It—Simplified

Here’s a simplified look at how this new material is made and why it works:

Natural rubber latex is collected from the Hevea tree.
Instead of using high heat and chemicals to crosslink the rubber (as in vulcanization), the scientists used low-intensity processing that doesn’t break the long polymer chains.
These long chains form a tangled network that can move and stretch, like spaghetti sliding in a bowl.
When stretched, the material doesn't tear easily. Instead, it allows parts of the rubber to crystallize, making it stronger where it needs to be.

In the new rubber tanglemer, a long polymer strand at a crack tip de-concentrates stress over a long distance, making the material more resistant to crack growth than regular natural rubber. Credit: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)

Real-World Impact: What Can This New Rubber Be Used For?

While the discovery is exciting, it does come with some limitations.

Right now, the process used to create the tanglemer rubber requires a lot of water evaporation, which makes it less practical for producing large or thick rubber items like car tires. However, it’s ideal for thin, flexible rubber products where crack resistance and flexibility are critical.

Potential applications include:

Medical gloves and condoms – where even the smallest tear can be a serious problem.
Flexible electronics – materials that can stretch and bend without breaking.
Soft robotics – robots made from soft, flexible parts that need durable materials.
Wearable devices – like fitness trackers or smart clothing that must withstand frequent movement.

As the production method is refined, it may become possible to scale this technology for use in larger products like vehicle tires, conveyor belts, and industrial seals.

The Sustainability Angle

One of the most exciting parts of this breakthrough is its impact on sustainability.

Rubber products that don’t crack as easily and last longer mean:

Fewer replacements, reducing waste.
Lower material use over time.
Improved product lifespans, which is crucial for industries that rely heavily on rubber components.

“Improving crack resistance will extend the material’s service lifetime and therefore improve its sustainability,” said Dr. Nian.

This aligns with growing global efforts to reduce waste and build materials that last longer, especially in industries like automotive and healthcare.

The Road Ahead: Challenges and Future Research

Despite its promising properties, the new rubber is not yet ready for large-scale commercial production.

The main hurdles include:

Low yield due to water evaporation: The current processing method is not efficient for bulk production.
Scalability issues: Making large, thick products with the same crack resistance is still a challenge.
Material cost: The method may currently be more expensive than traditional vulcanization.

However, the researchers believe these issues can be addressed with further development.

The study, published with support from the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, marks just the beginning of this new era in rubber technology.

Final Thoughts: A Simple Yet Powerful Idea

At the heart of this discovery is a beautifully simple idea—let the rubber chains stay long and tangled, instead of cutting them short and locking them into place.

This allows the material to behave more like a living tissue—strong, flexible, and able to heal itself under pressure.

This breakthrough may seem technical, but its impact could be felt across many aspects of daily life, from safer medical equipment to longer-lasting consumer products.

As scientists continue to refine and develop this technology, one thing is clear: rubber will never be the same again.

Reference: Nian, G., Chen, Z., Bao, X. et al. Natural rubber with high resistance to crack growth. Nat Sustain (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01559-z

Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

For years, scientists believed that adding even one qubit (a unit of quantum information) to a black hole needed energy. This was based on the idea that a black hole’s entropy must increase with more information, which means it must gain energy. But a new study by Jonah Kudler-Flam and Geoff Penington changes that thinking. They found that quantum information can be teleported into a black hole without adding energy or increasing entropy . This works through a process called black hole decoherence , where “soft” radiation — very low-energy signals — carry information into the black hole. In their method, the qubit enters the black hole while a new pair of entangled particles (like Hawking radiation) is created. This keeps the total information balanced, so there's no violation of the laws of physics. The energy cost only shows up when information is erased from the outside — these are called zerobits . According to Landauer’s principle, erasing information always needs energy. But ...

Uncover reality

Search This Blog

Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy