This talk will highlight ongoing research into the chemistry and underlying physics of impact mitigation in crosslinked polymer networks.  Routes towards improved impact performance will be discussed, including reaction-induced phase separation, rubber toughening additives, and control of crosslinking agent ductility. Reaction-induced phase separation has the ability to finely tune the phase separated domain size, from a few nanometers to hundreds of microns.  This is achieved by controlling the thermodynamics of network formation through either chain length or thermal curing profile.  This phase-separated morphology results in materials with dramatic improvements in impact performance.  The ability to generate nanoscale domains makes it possible to generate optically transparent, high impact performance networks.  An alternate method to generate optically transparent networks with high impact performance is through control of the crosslinking agent.  Methyl methacrylate-based networks can be prepared with a large degree of control over the mechanical performance: modulus ranging from nearly 4,000 MPa to 44 MPa, and with impact performance up to 400 % higher than pure PMMA.  This is achieved through control of the arm length of the crosslinking agent, which act as centers of controlled ductility within the network.  These methacrylate-based networks maintain excellent optical transmission and haze independent of crosslinker molecular weight and concentration.

Polymer networks for impact mitigation

2019 Spring National Meeting

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