Towards quantitatively predicting the properties of gels and elastomers

Polymer networks are critical to modern society. Applications of polymer networks, in the form of gels and elastomers, provide essential support for everyday life. However, while many aspects of the physics of polymer networks have been established in the past few decades, most theoretical efforts have been centered around the study of model polymer networks with highly regular topology. While this framework has provided important insights into the physics of polymer networks, the neglection of variation in network topology can significantly undermine the predictive power of existing classical theories. To provide accurate predictions, the role of network topology must be considered. Therefore, this thesis investigates the impact of topological defects on the properties of polymer networks. The first part of this thesis focuses on the topology of end-linked networks and the formation of defects.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Lin, Tzyy-Shyang.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bradley D. Olsen.

• Chemical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130659

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/130659