Researchers from Shanghai University have developed a liquid material that can be cut and make different shapes, such as gelatin. For this purpose, the liquid was covered with a layer of hydrophobic material with a thickness of just 20 nanometers.
The material used consists of a special silicone particles, and is single-layered, i.e., consists of only one molecule in thickness. Due to this, the material remains transparent. Researchers call it the “liquid clay”. If you move it by using hydrophobic tool, it retains its shape. At the same time, two drops of the material coalesce like drops of water.
Convex drop of liquid clay can be used in the manufacture of liquid magnifying lenses. The researchers also found that when you add chemicals, they dissolve more slowly than conventional fluid, slowing the chemical reaction. Thus, a drop of liquid clay can be used by chemists as a miniature “tubes”, and their transparency allows you to observe the occurring chemical processes.
According to the materials of Popular Mechanics