Aging process of elastic polymers: Relaxation leads to lower elasticity

As they age many materials exhibit changes in their properties. Although such phenomena crop up in many domains, the underlying processes are oftentimes not fully understood. Particularly interesting in this context are polymer materials found in plastics and in biological systems. A group led by physicists from the Technische Universitaet Muenchen has developed a model system casting light on essential aspects of these processes. The March issue of Nature Materials presents their results.

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