Scientific Achievement
Synthesis of all-acrylic block copolymers endowed with superelastomeric properties exceeding those of conventional thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) threefold.
Significance and Impact
The distinctive mechanical properties offer to expand the range of applications beyond those of traditional TPEs, and may lead to thinner surgical gloves.
Research Details
–One-batch anionic polymerization yields macromonomers with a scalable quantitative yield.
–The mechanical and linear viscoelastic properties were studied using uniaxial tensile testing and a rotational rheometer; morphology by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS).
W. Lu, A. Goodwin, Y. Wang, P. Yin, W. Wang, J. Zhu, T. Wu, X. Lu, B. Hu, K. Hong, N.-G. Kang, and J. Mays, "All-acrylic superelastomers: facile synthesis and exceptional mechanical behavior," Polymer Chemistry 9, 160 (2018). DOI: 10.1039/C7PY01518F
