Phase-Change Thermoplastic Elastomer Blends for Tunable Shape Memory by Physical Design
Shape-memory polymers (SMPs) change shape upon exposure to an environmental stimulus.1-3 They are of considerable importance in the ongoing development of stimuli-responsive biomedical4,5 and deployable6 devices, and their function depends on the presence of two components.7 The first provides mechanical rigidity to ensure retention of one or more temporary strain states and also serves as a switch capable of releasing a temporary strain state. The second, a network-forming component, is required to restore the polymer to a prior strain state upon stimulation. In thermally-activated SMPs, the switching element typically relies on a melting or glass transition temperature,1-3,7 and broad or multiple switches permit several temporary strain states.8-10 Chemical integration of network-forming and switching species endows SMPs with specific properties.8,10,11 Here, we demonstrate that phase-change materials incorporated into network-forming macromolecules yield shape-memory polymer blends (SMPBs) with physically tunable switching temperatures and recovery kinetics for use in multi-responsive laminates and shape-change electronics.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1390915
- Journal Information:
- Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, Journal Name: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research Journal Issue: 49 Vol. 55; ISSN 0888-5885
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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