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Cracking and healing in poly(methyl methacrylate): effect of solvent

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Abstract

In this work, the solvent-induced structural changes of PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate)) are studied via desorpon of methanol in 2-ethylhexyl alcohol. The desorption of methanol from PMMA specimens causes the shrinking (mass loss) and cracking of the PMMA specimens. The crack density of the cracks induced by the methanol desorption increases with the increase of the immersion time and temperature and approaches plateau. The absorption-induced crack healing of the cracked PMMA specimens is observed via absorption of methanol, resulting in the increase in tensile strength. The cracked PMMA specimens immersed in methanol at higher temperatures have higher tensile strength than at lower temperatures due to the healing of more cracks. The possibility of introducing functional particles, such as quantum dots, into PMMA through absorption-induced migration of particles has been demonstrated via the absorption-induced embedment of carbon particles in the cracked PMMA.

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Acknowledgements

SL is grateful for the support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan. FY is grateful for the support from the National Science Foundation, USA through Grant No. CMMI- 1634540, monitored by Dr. Khershed Cooper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan

    Yu-Fan Chuang, Hsien-Chun Wu & Sanboh Lee

  2. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA

    Fuqian Yang

  3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Feng-Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Tsong-Jen Yang

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  1. Yu-Fan Chuang
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  2. Hsien-Chun Wu
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  5. Sanboh Lee
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Correspondence to Sanboh Lee.

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Chuang, YF., Wu, HC., Yang, F. et al. Cracking and healing in poly(methyl methacrylate): effect of solvent. J Polym Res 24, 2 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-016-1164-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-016-1164-5

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