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Related Concept Videos

Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters01:20

Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters

The introduction of polyesters has brought major development to the textile industry. The wrinkle-free behavior of polyester blends has eliminated the need for starching and ironing clothes.
Polyesters are commonly prepared from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; the crude product is known as poly(ethylene terephthalate) or PET. However, polyesters are synthesized industrially by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol at 150 °C. The two reactants and the polymer...
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Overview01:13

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Recently, the development of olefin metathesis polymerization advanced the field of polymer synthesis. Simply put, the reorganization of substituents on their double bonds between two olefins in the presence of a catalyst is known as the olefin metathesis reaction. The use of metathesis reaction for polymer synthesis is called olefin metathesis polymerization.
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Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview

Step-growth or condensation polymerization is a stepwise reaction of bi or multifunctional monomers to form long-chain polymers. As all the monomers are reactive, most of the monomers are consumed at the early stages of the reaction to form small chains of reactive oligomers, which then combine to form long polymer chains in the late stages. Hence, the reaction has to proceed for a long time to achieve high molecular weight polymers.
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
Polymer Classification: Stereospecificity01:26

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Polymerization generates chiral centers along the entire backbone of a polymer chain. Accordingly, the stereochemistry of the substituent group has a significant effect on polymer properties. Polymers formed from monosubstituted alkene monomers feature chiral carbons at every alternate position in the polymer backbone. Relative to the predominant orientation of substituents at the adjacent chiral carbons, the polymer can exist in three different configurations: isotactic, syndiotactic, and...

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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Synthesis of Programmable Main-chain Liquid-crystalline Elastomers Using a Two-stage Thiol-acrylate Reaction
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Synthesis of Programmable Main-chain Liquid-crystalline Elastomers Using a Two-stage Thiol-acrylate Reaction

Published on: January 19, 2016

Photopolymerized Thiol-Ene Systems as Shape Memory Polymers.

Devatha P Nair1, Neil B Cramer, Timothy F Scott

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder CO, USA.

Polymer
|November 13, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Thiol-ene photopolymers offer superior shape memory polymer systems compared to acrylics. These novel polymers exhibit enhanced toughness, flexibility, and rapid shape recovery, making them ideal for advanced applications.

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Area of Science:

  • Polymer Science
  • Materials Science
  • Photochemistry

Background:

  • Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are stimuli-responsive materials capable of recovering their original shape upon activation.
  • Acrylic-based SMPs are widely used but can suffer from limitations such as oxygen inhibition and high shrinkage stress during polymerization.
  • Developing novel polymer networks with improved properties is crucial for advancing SMP technology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce and evaluate thiol-ene photopolymers as a new class of shape memory polymer systems.
  • To compare the performance of thiol-ene based SMPs against conventional acrylic SMPs.
  • To investigate the advantages conferred by the thiol-ene polymerization mechanism on SMP properties.

Main Methods:

  • Synthesis of two distinct thiol-ene based photopolymer formulations.
  • Thermomechanical analysis (TMA) to assess thermal properties and shape recovery.
  • Mechanical testing to evaluate toughness, flexibility, and stress/strain recovery.
  • Comparison with a standard acrylic shape memory polymer.

Main Results:

  • Thiol-ene SMPs demonstrated comparable thermomechanical properties to acrylic SMPs.
  • The thiol-ene polymerization mechanism resulted in homogenous networks with low shrinkage stress and negligible oxygen inhibition.
  • The developed thiol-ene SMPs exhibited excellent shape fixity (>96% free strain recovery, 100% constrained stress recovery) and a distinct shape memory actuation response.
  • Thiol-ene SMPs were significantly tougher and more flexible than their acrylic counterparts.

Conclusions:

  • Thiol-ene photopolymers represent a promising alternative for advanced shape memory polymer applications.
  • The unique polymerization mechanism of thiol-ene systems leads to superior material properties, including enhanced toughness and flexibility.
  • These findings pave the way for the development of next-generation SMPs with improved performance and processing characteristics.