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Published on: June 30, 2023
Effect of Polymer Molecular Mass and Structure on the Mechanical Properties of Polymer-Glass Hybrids
Yu Lin Lee1, Daniel W Lester2, Julian R Jones1
1Department of Materials, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
Abstract:
Organic-inorganic hybrid materials are a promising class of materials for tissue engineering and other biomedical applications. In this systematic study, the effect of the polymer molecular mass (MM) with a linear architecture on hybrid mechanical properties is reported. Well-defined linear poly(methyl methacrylate-co-(3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate)) polymers with a range of MMs of 9 to 90 kDa and one 90 kDa star-shaped polymer were synthesized and then used to form glass-polymer hybrids. It was demonstrated that increasing linear polymer MM decreases the resultant hybrid mechanical strength. Furthermore, a star-polymer hybrid was synthesized as a comparison and demonstrated significantly different mechanical properties relative to its linear-polymer counterpart.
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