The manipulation of polymer molecular weight distributions (MWDs) has recently emerged as a promising avenue toward fine-tuning polymer function from polymer processability and mechanical strength to many facets of morphological phase behavior. Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are a heavily commercialized class of materials which combine many of these features to achieve the desirable elasticity with the processing ease of thermoplastics. However, a common side effect of conventional elastomers is high damping of the material, leading to undesirable heat generation and ultimately premature failure. In this regard, a long-standing challenge in this field has been to develop TPEs with increased resilience without compromising favorable properties such as tensile strength and elasticity. With this grand challenge in mind, we envisioned that deliberate modification of polymer MWDs would offer the ability to tailor the function of commercial triblock copolymer TPEs. We find that the entire composition of the molecular weight distribution function can be used as a handle to predictably govern TPE material properties.

Tailor-made thermoplastic elastomers via modulation of molecular weight distributions

2019 Spring National Meeting

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