On the Impact of the Soft-Segment Nature on the Structure and Mechanical Properties of Multiblock Copolymers
Dr. Guilhem Baeza (INSA-Lyon, MAT ENG & visiting fellow at Univ. Naples, CHEM ENG)
Dr. Salvatore Costanzo (Univ. Naples, CHEM ENG)
Pr. Giuseppe Milano (Univ. Naples, MAT ENG)
Dr. Julien Morthomas (INSA-Lyon, MAT ENG)
Dr. Ping Zhu (Chinese Academy of Science – Chem. Institute)
ABOUT THE MATERIALS :
Multiblock copolymers (MBCs) represent a fascinating class of materials that sits at the very heart of industrial applications and fundamental polymer science. They are most often made of a linear succession of incompatible “soft” and “hard” segments that microphase separate at room temperature while they can be easily re-homogenized upon heating. This thermoreversible character provides them with decisive advantages with respect to other rubber-based materials such as vulcanized elastomers, making them indispensable for the development of a more sustainable polymer industry. Beyond practical opportunities, tailoring the MBCs’ morphology has a pivotal role to play in the fundamental understanding of the structure–properties relationship of polymer-based systems. It is notably likely to serve to comprehend complex materials such as semicrystalline homopolymers and nanocomposites.
FOCUS :
The present project will particularly focus on the impact of the soft-segment chemical nature while keeping the hard-segment and the global chain topology unchanged. This chemical modification is expected to modify both the structure (i.e., the microphase separation) and the resulting mechanical properties of a series of MBCs that will be investigated both experimentally (rheology, calorimetry, atomic force microscopy, X-ray scattering) and via molecular dynamics simulations.
REFERENCES :
G.P. Baeza, Recent advances on the structure–properties relationship of multiblock copolymers, J. Pol. Sci. 2021 59 (21), 2405-2433.