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Published on: October 29, 2013
Revealing the supramolecular nature of side-chain terpyridine-functionalized polymer networks
Jérémy Brassinne1, Florian D Jochum2, Charles-André Fustin3
1Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences (IMCN), Bio- and Soft Matter (BSMA) Division, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Place L. Pasteur 1, Louvain-la-Neuve B-1348, Belgium. jeremy.brassinne@uclouvain.be.
Abstract:
Nowadays, finely controlling the mechanical properties of polymeric materials is possible by incorporating supramolecular motifs into their architecture. In this context, the synthesis of a side-chain terpyridine-functionalized poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) is reported via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. By addition of transition metal ions, concentrated aqueous solutions of this polymer turn into metallo-supramolecular hydrogels whose dynamic mechanical properties are investigated by rotational rheometry. Hence, the possibility for the material to relax mechanical constrains via dissociation of transient cross-links is brought into light. In addition, the complex phenomena occurring under large oscillatory shear are interpreted in the context of transient networks.
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