Slashdot has reported:

Researchers have developed BioPykrete, a strengthened ice composite that was about 10 times stronger than regular ice and absorbed 70 times more energy before breaking in small-scale tests. The material combines ice with cellulose nanocrystals and a custom protein that binds the plant-based crystals to the ice structure.

The researchers used cellulose nanocrystals instead of the larger, disordered fibres found in wood pulp. Cellulose is the main structural material in plants, and in nanocrystal form it can reinforce other materials, including ice, by making it harder for cracks to spread.

The protein, called CBM3a-AFPIII, combines an antifreeze protein, or AFP, with a carbohydrate-binding module, or CBM. It acts as a glue to hold the cellulose nanocrystals and ice together.

The researchers say adjustments to the ingredients and methods could improve the composite. “Optimizing solidification kinetics and freezing protocols, alongside developing diverse AFP-CBM variants, could yield even higher-strength composites,” they wrote.

Next, they plan to conduct further tests of BioPykrete’s durability and examine how cracks propagate through it. That work is intended to check whether the mechanisms they believe strengthen the material are responsible for its performance.

The approach could eventually inform materials for packaging, construction and other uses by joining ice and cellulose with a custom protein. The researchers described their work as a link between protein design and structural engineering. “By bridging the gap between recombinant protein design and structural engineering, we have developed a high-performance material specifically engineered for the rigors of the world's most extreme environments,” they wrote.

The findings were published in the journal Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces.