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Published on: January 19, 2016
Ambient Environment Adaptive Elastomer Constructed by Microphase Separation and Segment Complexation of Triblock
Weijie Wang1, Caihong Zhang1, Hao Huang1
1State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-dimension Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
Researchers developed an adaptive elastomer using polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid)-block-polystyrene (SAS) and polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-polystyrene (SES) copolymers. This material quickly adapts to changes in temperature and humidity.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Science
Background:
- Environmental adaptability in materials is crucial for advanced applications.
- Elastomers capable of responding to ambient conditions are of significant interest.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate an elastomer that adapts to ambient environmental changes (temperature and humidity).
- To investigate the structure-property relationships of the developed elastomer.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of an elastomer by assembling polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid)-block-polystyrene (SAS) and polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-polystyrene (SES) triblock copolymers.
- Analysis of microphase separation and hydrogen-bonding complexation.
- Characterization of elastomer response to temperature and relative humidity variations.
- Evaluation of mechanical properties after loading-unloading cycle training.
Main Results:
- The SAS/SES complex exhibits distinct hard (PS) and soft (PAA/PEO) domains.
- A major relaxation transition was observed between 10-30 °C and 40-60% relative humidity.
- The elastomer demonstrated rapid adaptation to coupled temperature and humidity changes.
- Post-training, the elastomer showed domain orientation, low energy dissipation, high recovery, and strain stiffening.
Conclusions:
- The developed SAS/SES elastomer effectively adapts to ambient environmental conditions.
- Mechanical properties are significantly enhanced after training, indicating potential for domain orientation.
- This elastomer shows promise for sensing and adaptation components in intelligent systems.
