Issue 44, 2019

Mechanochromic composite elastomers for additive manufacturing and low strain mechanophore activation

Abstract

Herein, we report a strategy for additive manufacturing of a mechanochemically active silicone ink primarily composed of PDMS microbeads. Extruded, stable structures of cured microbeads were held together with a “bridging material” comprising uncured PDMS and spiropyran in a water medium. The mechanochromic silicone ink was a shear-thinning gel that exhibited a yield stress, and thus, was suitable for direct-write 3D printing. The spiropyran was stable to mild conditions of the printing process, and after a thermal curing step, the printed silicone displayed reversible mechanochromic activity. The extruded composite displays chromophore activation at lower mechanical strains under uniaxial tension (60–70%) than in a film without the microbeads (130–140%). Multi-layered 3D printed constructs were fabricated and displayed mechanochromic activity in tension and compression. These experiments demonstrate the versatility of these silicone inks to produce 3D printed functional elastomers with mechanochemical activity.

Graphical abstract: Mechanochromic composite elastomers for additive manufacturing and low strain mechanophore activation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 Jul 2019
Accepted
10 Sep 2019
First published
18 Sep 2019

Polym. Chem., 2019,10, 5985-5991

Author version available

Mechanochromic composite elastomers for additive manufacturing and low strain mechanophore activation

R. C. Rohde, A. Basu, L. B. Okello, M. H. Barbee, Y. Zhang, O. D. Velev, A. Nelson and S. L. Craig, Polym. Chem., 2019, 10, 5985 DOI: 10.1039/C9PY01053J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements