Most polymers used in 3D printers are too hard and inflexible to make a comfortable shoe, although fashion students and designers have not been deterred from producing them, if only for one lap down a runway.

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That means that a whole range of polymers which do not conduct electricity (such as most common plastics) can be brought into play.

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Most of the current market for plant-based chemicals and polymers lies in specialty chemicals used in soaps and detergents, says consulting firm Nexant in White Plains, N.

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His original 1990 paper on glowing organic polymers, published in Nature, became Friend's most widely cited research, according to Science Watch, which tracks academic research.

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