Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Polymer chemistry

Wasted loops quantified

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature

View current issue Submit your manuscript

A method for dissecting the polymeric networks of gels enables the number of loops — strands that connect to themselves — within them to be counted. This allows network morphologies to be correlated with gel properties.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1: Primary loops in cross-linked polymer networks.

References

  1. Gong, J. P. Soft Matter 6, 2583–2590 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Zhou, H. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 109, 19119–19124 (2012).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Panyukov, S. & Rabin, Y. Phys. Rep. 269, 1–131 (1996).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Yashin, V., Kuksenok, O., Dayal, P. & Balazs, A. C. Rep. Progr. Phys. 75, 066601 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Cohen Stuart, M. A. et al. Nature Mater. 9, 101–113 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Yoshida, R. Sensors 10, 1810–1822 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. He, X. et al. Nature 487, 214–218 (2012).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Guillet, P. et al. Soft Matter 5, 3409–3411 (2009).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Yashin, V. V., Kuksenok, O. & Balazs, A. C. J. Phys. Chem. B 114, 6316–6322 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Ueno, T., Bundo, K., Akagi, Y., Sakai, T. & Yoshida, R. Soft Matter 6, 6072–6074 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anna C. Balazs is in the Chemical Engineering Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA.,

    Anna C. Balazs

Authors
  1. Anna C. Balazs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna C. Balazs.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Balazs, A. Wasted loops quantified. Nature 493, 172–173 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/493172a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/493172a

  • Springer Nature Limited

Search

Navigation