Campus Units

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Document Type

Article

Research Focus Area

Advanced and Nanostructured Materials

Publication Version

Accepted Manuscript

Publication Date

5-15-2020

Journal or Book Title

ACS Macro Letters

Volume

9

First Page

781

Last Page

787

DOI

10.1021/acsmacrolett.0c00211

Abstract

Here we report microphase-separated poly(styrene-block-dimethylsiloxane) (PS-b-PDMS) as a reinforcing filler in PDMS thermosets that overcomes the long-standing problem of aging in the processing of silica-reinforced silicone. Surprisingly, PS-b-PDMS reinforced composites display comparable mechanical performance to silica-modified analogs, even though the modulus of PS is much smaller than that of silica and there is no evidence of percolation with respect to the rigid PS domains. We have found that a few unique characteristics contribute to the reinforcing performance of PS-b-PDMS. The strong self-assembly behavior promotes batch-to-batch repeatability by having well-dispersed fillers. The structure and size of the fillers depend on the loading and characteristics of both filler and matrix, along with the shear effect. The reinforcing effect of PS-b-PDMS is mostly brought by the entanglements between the corona layer of the filler and the matrix, rather than the hydrodynamic reinforcement of the PS phase.

Comments

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Macro Letters. To access the final edited and published work see DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.0c00211.

Rights

Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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