APS March Meeting 2017
Volume 62, Number 4
Monday–Friday, March 13–17, 2017;
New Orleans, Louisiana
Session P9: Architectural Design of Polymers I
2:30 PM–5:30 PM,
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Room: 268
Sponsoring
Unit:
DPOLY
Chair: Gila Stein, University of Tennessee
Abstract ID: BAPS.2017.MAR.P9.4
Abstract: P9.00004 : Elastomer genome: Reverse tissue engineering.*
3:06 PM–3:42 PM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Sergei S. Sheiko
(University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Soft elastic materials enable the creation of implants, substrates, and
haptic robotic digits with mechanical properties matching those of
biological tissues. Currently, polymer gels are the only viable class of
synthetic materials with a Young's modulus below 100 kPa. However, the
liquid fraction in the gels causes practical troubles including phase
separation and solvent leakage on deformation. Herein, we have created
bottlebrush and comb-like networks that are superelastic ($\lambda =$1-12)
and ultrasoft (G$=$10$^{\mathrm{2}}$ -- 10$^{\mathrm{5}}$ Pa), even in the
absence of solvent [1]. The brush-like architecture causes an increase in
the diameter of individual polymer molecules, but unlike typical filaments,
the molecules remain flexible. This enables a significant decrease in the
entanglement density, which reduces the limit of stiffness in dry polymer
materials by 1000 times and has opened up new applications not available to
stiffer materials or materials with liquid fractions [2]. The comb-like
architecture offers three independently controlled parameters -- side-chain
length, grafting density, and crosslink density - that allow for
combinatorial variations of elastomer mechanical properties impossible for
conventional linear chain elastomers, e.g. simultaneously increasing
rigidity and elasticity. Based on this materials design platform, we have
prepared elastomers that closely match the mechanical behaviour of
biological tissue. Furthermore, this architecture affords many chain-ends
that are amendable for chemical modifications and enhance molecular
mobility, which directly affects vital physical properties ranging from
glass transition and crystallization temperatures to adhesion and
permeability. [1] Daniel, W.F.M.; Burdy\'{n}ska,J.;
Vatankhah-Varnoosfaderani, M.V.; Matyjaszewski, K.; Paturej, J.; Rubinstein,
M.; Dobrynin, A.D.; Sheiko, S.S. Nature Materials 2016, 15, 183-189.
[2]Vatankhah-Varnosfaderani, M.; Daniel, W.F.M.; Zhushma, A.P.; Li, Q.,
Morgan, B.J.; Matyjaszewski, K.; Armstrong, D.P.; Spontak, R.J.; Dobrynin,
A.V.; Sheiko, S.S. Advanced Materials 2016, DOI: 10.1002/adma.201604209
*This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation (DMR-1407645 and DMR-1436201)
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2017.MAR.P9.4