Mechanical properties of supramolecular elastomers prepared from polymer-grafted polyrotaxane

Publication date: 16 October 2017
Source:Polymer, Volume 128
Author(s): Kosuke Minato, Koichi Mayumi, Rina Maeda, Kazuaki Kato, Hideaki Yokoyama, Kohzo Ito
Supramolecular slide-ring (SR) elastomers without solvent were fabricated by cross-linking of polymer-grafted polyrotaxane in which α-cyclodextrins (CDs) with poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) side chains are threaded on a polyethylene glycol (PEG) axial linear chain. The cross-links in the SR elastomers are capable of sliding along the backbone in response to applied stress. Mechanical properties of the SR elastomers with different cross-linking densities were compared with those of fixed cross-link (FC) elastomers prepared from PCL-grafted hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) to understand the influence of the slidable cross-links. The SR elastomers are found to undergo less strain-hardening at large strains and demonstrate higher strains at break than the conventional FC elastomers with the same Young's moduli.

Graphical abstract

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