Regensburg 2022 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 17: Poster 2

CPP 17.41: Poster

Dienstag, 6. September 2022, 11:00–13:00, P2

Nucleation of separating liquid phases in elastic polymer networks — •Charlotta Lorenz, Carla Fernández-Rico, and Eric Dufresne — Soft and Living Materials, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Arrested phase separation is a key mechanism used by living systems to create well-controlled nanostructures. One of the most salient examples is structural color as present in some bird and insect species. Besides fascinating optical properties, phase-separating composite systems can have astonishing mechanical properties: For example, liquid inclusions can stiffen polymer networks. These mechanical properties have been less studied compared to the optical properties. To study the mechanical properties we use a sample system of a polymer network made of PDMS and fluorinated oil. We aim to control mechanical properties by tuning the structure of the phase-separated domains. Structure of the phase separating domains can be influenced by their nucleation. We vary typical parameters which could determine the nucleation such as the mesh size of the polymer network and total liquid fraction. We employ small-angle X-ray scattering, tensile tests and indentation experiments to study nucleation and mechanical properties of phase-separating samples. Our studies can result in mechanically highly flexible, self-assembled materials, which are comparatively fast and easy to produce.