Tunable Surfaces and Films from Thioester Containing Microparticles

Reported here, thioester containing microparticles were designed with 40% excess thiol to enable thiol-thioester exchange to facilitate the formation of cohesive films from the particles. A thiol-Michael dispersion polymerization was used to generate thioester containing microparticles with a diameter of 4.0 ± 0.4 μm. The particles were then swollen with a base at varying concentrations to activate the thiol-thioester exchange and subsequently compressed between two glass slides. Resultant films were characterized over time with profilometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to infer particle coalescence at different catalyst loadings and times. Tensile tests were performed confirming the structural integrity of the particle-based films. Furthermore, microparticles were welded to a nondynamic network demonstrating feasibility in potential applications to generate materials containing differing mechanical properties. Being able to control the functionality of particles, and thus mechanical properties of the resultant films, is also important for applications in coatings, adhesives, and 3D printing where spatial patterning or selective material property control is needed.