Main > POLYMERS > Light. CrossLinked Gelled Polymer. > ReShaping Stress-Free Method > Org.: USA. U (Research) > Description

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Authors have prepared a cross-linked polymer that, when exposed to light, can be reshaped without sacrificing material properties. The group attributes the polymer s stress-free malleability to the allyl sulfide functional groups in its backbone. Upon exposure to light, a photoinitiator introduces a radical into the polymer matrix. The radical reversibly cleaves the backbone via the radical addition-fragmentation chain-transfer mechanism shown, where R represents various monomers in the polymer network. Each reaction with a radical generates a new radical, so that the process changes the topology of the polymer network, introducing plasticity. The polymer s chemistry and network connectivity are unchanged, which is how the material maintains its properties.



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