Mechanochemically responsive polymer enables shockwave visualization

Polette J. Centellas, Kyle D. Mehringer, Andrew L. Bowman, Katherine M. Evans, Parth Vagholkar, Travis L. Thornell, Liping Huang, Sarah E. Morgan, Christopher L. Soles, Yoan C. Simon () and Edwin P. Chan ()
Additional contact information
Polette J. Centellas: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Kyle D. Mehringer: University of Southern Mississippi
Andrew L. Bowman: US Army Engineer Research and Development Center
Katherine M. Evans: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Parth Vagholkar: University of Southern Mississippi
Travis L. Thornell: US Army Engineer Research and Development Center
Liping Huang: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Sarah E. Morgan: University of Southern Mississippi
Christopher L. Soles: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Yoan C. Simon: Arizona State University
Edwin P. Chan: National Institute of Standards and Technology

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Understanding the physical and chemical response of materials to impulsive deformation is crucial for applications ranging from soft robotic locomotion to space exploration to seismology. However, investigating material properties at extreme strain rates remains challenging due to temporal and spatial resolution limitations. Combining high-strain-rate testing with mechanochemistry encodes the molecular-level deformation within the material itself, thus enabling the direct quantification of the material response. Here, we demonstrate a mechanophore-functionalized block copolymer that self-reports energy dissipation mechanisms, such as bond rupture and acoustic wave dissipation, in response to high-strain-rate impacts. A microprojectile accelerated towards the polymer permanently deforms the material at a shallow depth. At intersonic velocities, the polymer reports significant subsurface energy absorption due to shockwave attenuation, a mechanism traditionally considered negligible compared to plasticity and not well explored in polymers. The acoustic wave velocity of the material is directly recovered from the mechanochemically-activated subsurface volume recorded in the material, which is validated by simulations, theory, and acoustic measurements. This integration of mechanochemistry with microballistic testing enables characterization of high-strain-rate mechanical properties and elucidates important insights applicable to nanomaterials, particle-reinforced composites, and biocompatible polymers.

Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52663-1 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-52663-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52663-1

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().