Researchers from the University of Michigan have developed a new type of composite plastic. This new material constructed from clay nano-sheets and a water soluble polymer has been found to be as strong as steel but is lighter and transparent. While no official name has been given to this invention, it has been unofficially dubbed "plastic steel" by Nicholas Kotov, one of the scientists on the project.

The material was developed in the team's efforts to solve a problem that has befuddled both engineers and scientists. Former studies on nanotubes, nanosheets, and nanorods found that each one is stable in smaller configurations. However, when used to build larger devices, the final product came out to be structurally weaker than the base material. Kotov explained the problem in detail:

When you tried to build something you can hold in your arms, scientists had difficulties transferring the strength of individual nanosheets or nanotubes to the entire material. We've demonstrated that one can achieve almost ideal transfer of stress between nanosheets and a polymer matrix.