When it comes to polymer fragility, size does matter
Tuesday, October 18, 2016 - 10:01
in Physics & Chemistry
Polymers are very large molecules consisting of thousands, even millions, of atoms bonded together in a repeating pattern similar to a chain. They make up many of the things around us we consider part of our everyday lives, from bottles and tires to airplanes and medical devices. Understanding what gives polymers their unique properties is helpful in developing new functional materials for various current and future technologies. A multinational team of researchers have brought together expertise and experimental results over years to help to explain the extremely strong temperature dependence of viscoelastic properties of polymers melts, a mystery that had thus far evaded explanation.