Study of the Effect of Hydrolysis Time on the Mechanical Properties of Polysiloxane Microcapsules

It is known that the microstructure and thereby the mechanical properties of membranes constituting microcapsules are sensitive to parameters such as precursor concentration and pH. In the case of polysiloxane microcapsules, the oligomers, which are already formed in the continuous oil phase, because of the inherent moisture content in the oil phase, deposit on the membrane surface, resulting in the formation of a microstructure with a hairy layer. An electrodeformation investigation shows that the deposition of these oligomers is predominant in the smaller microcapsules compared to the larger ones and results in strain hardening and plasticity in the microcapsule membrane at high deformation. However, if the hydrolysis time during the synthesis of microcapsules is controlled, a smooth morphology (with a diminished hairy layer) can be realized for smaller capsules, as well. This work, using the electrodeformation method, demonstrates significant viscoelasticity and plasticity in the response of the capsules to applied electric stress and establishes an equivalence between simple spring and dashpot element-based phenomenological models with respect to the membrane properties using a linearized viscoelastic elasto-electrohydrodynamic model. The model can capture plasticity and strain hardening that are otherwise missed in simplified elasticity-based models.