AI Article Synopsis
- Small additive molecules can improve the way polymers relax structurally, which is important for certain applications.
- Researchers conducted molecular dynamics simulations to study this effect in thermoplastic shape memory polymers.
- They found that the size of the additives relative to the monomer significantly influences the rate of shape recovery, especially near the glass transition temperature, highlighting the additives’ size as a new variable for controlling recovery in these materials.
Article Abstract
Small additive molecules often enhance structural relaxation in polymers. We explore this effect in a thermoplastic shape memory polymer via molecular dynamics simulations. The additive-to-monomer size ratio is shown to play a key role here. While the effect of additive-concentration on the rate of shape recovery is found to be monotonic in the investigated range, a non-monotonic dependence on the size-ratio emerges at temperatures close to the glass transition. This work thus identifies the additives' size to be a qualitatively novel parameter for controlling the recovery process in polymer-based shape memory materials.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7826723 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma14020327 | DOI Listing |
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