Publications
On the size effect of additives in amorphous shape memory polymers
E. Mahmoudinezhad Zirdehi, H. Dumlu, G. Eggeler, F. Varnik.
Materials, 14, 327, (2021)
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.
Keyword(s): shape memory polymers; additive effects; glass transition; bead-spring copolymer; molecular dynamics; chemo-thermal coupling; ESTANE;
Cite as: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14020327
DOI: 10.3390/ma14020327
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