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SUMMARY:Exploiting entropy to enhance toughness in polymer gels with rever
 sible crosslinks - Nicholas Tito (Technische Universiteit Eindhoven)
DTSTART:20190514T092000Z
DTEND:20190514T094000Z
UID:TALK124378@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:INI IT
DESCRIPTION:Co-Authors: Costantino Creton\, Cornelis Storm\, Wouter Ellenb
 roek<br> <br> Entropy is the daunting "second half" of thermodynamics\, un
 iversally encountered yet often overlooked when designing molecular recipe
 s for new soft materials and structures. This talk seeks to inspire a line
  of thought on how entropy can be harnessed as a central design element in
  soft polymeric materials\, for imbuing adaptability\, robustness\, and fu
 nctional uniqueness.<br> <br> Highly elastic yet failure-resistant polymer
  gels with reversible crosslinks [1] will be showcased as a recent example
  where entropy provides unexpected functionality. Using a combination of t
 heory\, molecular simulation\, and polymer self-consistent field theory fo
 r networks [2]\, I will discuss how entropy counter-intuitively leads to s
 patial clustering of reversible crosslinks around permanent crosslinks in 
 the polymer gel. This entropy-induced order leads the gel to be less prone
  to failure\, while maintaining its high degree of extensibility [3]. Prac
 tical guidelines will be outlined to optimise this design in experiment\, 
 along with a discussion of key kinetic and timescale considerations. <br> 
 <br> [1] Kean\, Z. S.\; et al. Adv. Mat. 2014\, 26\, 6013. <br> [2] Tito\,
  N. B.\; Storm\, C.\; Ellenbroek\, W. G. Macromolecules 2017\, 50\, 9788.<
 br> [3] Tito\, N. B.\; Creton\, C.\; Storm\, C\; Ellenbroek\, W. G. Soft M
 atter 2019\, 15\, 2190.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute
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