Polymerization-based stress is a long-standing problem that negatively affects cured materials ranging from hard composites to adhesives.  In general, polymerization-based stress is the result of shrinkage related to the enchainment of monomers into polymer.  The polymer community has largely focused on reducing polymerization shrinkage to reduce shrinkage stress.  However, alleviating stress by reducing polymerization-based shrinkage restricts monomer choice; typically, low shrink materials result from the use of ring-opening monomers.  An alternative strategy is to develop methods to provide stress relief more directly.  One potential method to relieve stress in the material as it cures is to include labile crosslinks that can cleave and reform during the polymerization process, thereby providing a path for network reorganization.  Addition-fragmentation monomers (AFMs) are a unique class of functional molecules that can cleave, or fragment, during a free-radical polymerization process, thus providing a mechanism for crosslink cleavage and stress relief.  Early work with AFMs focused on materials that are highly colored are challenging to prepare, thereby limiting the commercial application of this disruptive stress-relieving technology.  Collaborative work between 3M’s Corporate Laboratories and Oral Care research team led to the identification of a class of addition-fragmentation monomers built around a methacrylate dimer core that reduce polymerization stress in dental composites while also addressing these limitations.  The development of these practical methacrylate-dimer-based addition-fragmentation monomers and the application of these materials in curable materials, including dental composites, will be discussed. <br/>

AFM technology at 3M: Past, present and future

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.