am8b03050_si_001.pdf (133.87 kB)
Using Unentangled Oligomers To Toughen Materials
journal contribution
posted on 2018-08-03, 00:00 authored by Scott G. Isaacson, Yusuke Matsuda, Krystelle Lionti, Theo Frot, Willi Volksen, Reinhold H. Dauskardt, Geraud DuboisEntanglements
between polymer chains are responsible for the strength and toughness
of polymeric materials. When the chains are too short to form entanglements,
the polymer becomes weak and brittle. Here we show that molecular
bridging of oligomers in molecular-scale confinement can dramatically
toughen materials even when intermolecular entanglements are completely
absent. We describe the fabrication of nanocomposite materials that
confine oligomer chains to molecular-scale dimensions and demonstrate
that partially confined unentangled oligomers can toughen materials
far beyond rule-of-mixtures estimates. We also characterize how partially
confined oligomers affect the kinetics of nanocomposite cracking in
moist environments and show that the presence of a backfilled oligomeric
phase within a nanoporous organosilicate matrix leads to atomistic
crack path meandering in which the failure path is preferentially
located within the matrix phase.
History
Usage metrics
Categories
Keywords
rule-of-mixtures estimatesmolecular-scale confinementUnentangled Oligomersfailure pathform entanglementsToughen Materials Entanglementsmatrix phasenanoporous organosilicate matrixatomistic crack pathmolecular-scale dimensionsunentangled oligomersoligomer chainsbackfilled oligomeric phasenanocomposite materialspolymer chains
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC