While thermosets—traditional crosslinked polymer networks—cannot be recycled, dynamic crosslinks characteristic to covalent adaptable networks (CANs) can undergo exchange reactions in specific conditions that allow the material to be reprocessed. However, the impacts of polymer properties such as crosslink density, polarity, and glass transition temperature on CAN exchange dynamics are poorly understood. In this context, the goal of this project is to determine the impact of varying crosslink density and polymer polarity on the rheological properties of novel guanidine-based CANs. Two styrenic carbodiimide (CDI) monomers were synthesized and found to be amenable to free-radical copolymerization with either styrene or methyl acrylate in varying ratios. Bifunctional amines were reacted with the resulting CDI-containing copolymers for the successful formation of guanidine-based CANs. While optimization of the material for rheological and dynamic mechanical analysis is in progress, preliminary results indicate the material to exhibit properties characteristic to CANs such as stress relaxation and creep.

Chemical and physical tailoring of guanidine-based covalent adaptable networks

ACS Spring 2022

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