Smart materials incorporating polymers in their design increasingly rely on dynamic bonds to impart useful, reconfigurable character. Here I will describe our recent efforts in understanding and controlling the fundamental physiochemical aspects of such dynamic bonds, with a particular focus on multi-component systems deliberately configured such that a range of competing processes is ultimately responsible for the system's behavior. In some cases, these competitive processes are allowed to proceed in the bulk; in other cases, they are allowed to proceed at an interface. The unique system responses achievable by either scheme suggest that we are only at the beginning of a revolution in smart materials and point to new directions in driven, active matter systems.

Molecular design strategies for smart materials based on new dynamic bonding motifs in polymers

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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