Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory used polymer chemistry to transform a common household plastic into a reusable adhesive with a rare combination of strength and ductility, making it one of the toughest materials ever reported.

The study, published in Science Advances, fundamentally advances pathways to design a new class of tough adhesives with desirable features merged into a single material. The technology adapts to bear heavy loads, tolerate extreme stress and heat, and reversibly bond to various surfaces including glass, aluminum and steel.

“Strong, tough adhesives are difficult to design because they need to incorporate hard and soft features that are not typically compatible,” said ORNL scientist and corresponding author Tomonori Saito. Structural adhesives such as epoxy are largely designed for load-bearing strength but lack toughness, a property that helps materials dissipate stress when pulled or stretched to prevent sudden failure.