Investigation of Stimuli-Responsive Materials Under High Strain-Rates
Abstract
This project will focus on the synthesis of polymeric material bearing stimuli-responsive molecules that will activate upon exposure to high-strain rates. This will allow for a comprehensive study of stress in everyday polymeric materials. Because most of the effective stimuli-responsive molecules used as sensors, such as, spiropyrans, suffer from intrinsic limitations – poor solubility in a range of polymer systems, simultaneous activation by heat, light and mechanical stress, and low stability in the highly colored form – we seek to develop a stimuli-responsive system based on new thermo- and photochromic material recently developed in our laboratory, called donor-acceptor Stenhouse adducts (DASA). To proceed in a rational manner, we propose to synthesize a range of DASAs and incorporate them into polymers. Based on the flexible synthetic design, each DASA adduct will be constructed to have different absorbance wavelengths and each yielding at different strains. This work will allow for facile visual mapping of stress throughout the polymer sample and should provide a better understanding of how polymeric systems behave under strain. Polymers are extensively used in safety equipment and aircraft parts, so understanding how polymers fail and reducing their chance of failure will be of significant value to the public good. The thermo- and photochromic molecules for this project will be synthesized at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the group of Javier Read de Alaniz.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 09, 2016
- Source ID
- N002441510043
Entities
People
- Javier Read de Alaniz
Organizations
- United States Navy
- University of California, Santa Barbara