The influence of heat treatment on the properties of shape memory fibers. II. Tensile properties,dimensional stability,recovery force relaxation,and thermomechanical cyclic properties

Shape memory fibers (SMFs) were prepared via a melt spinning process. The fibers were subject to different heat treatments to eliminate internal stress and structure deficiency caused during the melt spinning process. The influences of heat treatments on the SMF thermal properties, molecular orientation, tensile properties, dimensional stability, recovery force relaxation, and thermomechanical cyclic properties were studied. It was found that the heat treatments increased soft segment crystallinity and phase separation while decreased molecular orientation. The low‐temperature heat treatment increased the breaking elongation, shape fixity ratios, and decreased boiling water shrinkage while shape recovery ratios were decreased. High‐temperature treatment increased both the shape recovery ratios, fixity ratios, recovery stress stability and at the same time decreasing the fiber mechanical strength. The results from differential scanning calorimetry, molecular orientation apparatus, and cyclic tensile testing were used to illustrate the mechanism governing the mechanical properties and shape memory effect. To obtain comprehensive outstanding properties, the SMF is expected to be treated at a high temperature because of the hard segment high glass transition temperature. Unfortunately, the heat treatment could not be conducted at a too high temperature because the SMF became too tacky and soft due to the melting of the soft segment phase. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Nanoclay-tethered shape memory polyurethane nanocomposites

The study investigated shape memory properties of nanoclay-tethered polyurethane nanocomposites. Polyurethanes based on polycaprolactone (PCL) diol, methylene diisocyanate, and butane diol and their nanocomposites of reactive nanoclay were prepared by bulk polymerization in an internal mixer and the values of shape fixity and shape recovery stress were determined as function of clay content. The melting point of the crystalline soft segment was used as the transition temperature to actuate the shape memory actions. It was seen that clay particles exfoliated well in the polymer, decreased the crystallinity of the soft segment phase, and promoted phase mixing between the hard and soft segment phases. Nevertheless, the soft segment crystallinity was enough and in some cases increased due to stretching to exhibit excellent shape fixity and shape recovery ratio. A 20% increase in the magnitude of shape recovery stress was obtained with the addition of 1 wt% nanoclay. The room temperature tensile properties were seen to depend on the competing influence of reduced soft segment crystallinity and the clay content. However, the tensile modulus measured at temperatures above the melting point of the soft segment crystals showed continued increases with clay content.     

Melt spun thermoresponsive shape memory fibers based on polyurethanes: Effect of drawing and heat‐setting on fiber morphology and properties

Thermoresponsive shape memory (SMP) fibers were prepared by melt spinning from a polyester polyol‐based polyurethane shape memory polymer (SMP) and were subjected to different postspinning operations to modify their structure. The effect of drawing and heat‐setting operations on the shape memory behavior, mechanical properties, and structure of the fibers was studied. In contrast to the as‐spun fibers, which were found to show low stress built up on straining to temporary shape and incomplete recovery to the permanent shape, the drawn and heat‐set fibers showed significantly higher stresses and complete recovery. The fibers drawn at a DR of 3.0 and heat‐set at 100°C gave stress values that were about 10 times higher than the as‐spun fibers at the same strain and showed complete recovery on repeated cycling. This improvement was likely due to the transformation brought about in the morphology of the permanent shape of the SMP fibers from randomly oriented weakly linked regions of hard and soft segments to the well‐segregated, oriented and strongly H‐bonded regions of hard‐segments. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2172–2182, 2007     

Study on the thermal-induced shape memory effect of pyridine containing supramolecular polyurethane

In this paper, a series of pyridine containing supramolecular polyurethanes (PUPys) were synthesized from BINA, HDI and BDO. Then the structure, morphology and thermal-induced shape memory effect (SMEs) of PUPys were investigated systematically. Results show that strong hydrogen bonding is formed in the urethane group as well as in the pyridine ring; and phase separation consisting of soft phase and hard phase occurs in the PUPy. In addition, it is found that the lower limit of BINA content for PUPys exhibiting good SMEs is 30 wt%. PUPys with higher BINA content show higher shape fixity, higher shape recovery and better strain stability. Moreover, the shape recovery force increases with the decreasing of BINA content. Finally, the temperature-dependent FT-IR spectra support that the hydrogen bonding in the pyridine ring serves as the molecular switch; while the hydrogen bonding in the urethane groups acts as the physical netpoints for the utilization of PUPys as SMMs.     

Studies on thermally stimulated shape memory effect of segmented polyurethanes

The shape memory behavior of a series of polycaprolactone/methane diisocyanate/butanediol (PCL/MDI/BDO) segmented polyurethanes of different composition was studied. The molecular weight of PCL diols was in the range of 1600–7000, and the hard segment content varied from 7.8 to 27% by weight. Film specimens for shape memory measurements were prepared by drawing at temperatures above the melting temperature of the soft segment crystals and subsequent quick cooling to room temperature under constrained conditions. The shape memory process was observed and recorded in a heating process. Parameters describing the recovery temperature, ability, and speed were used to study the influence of structure and processing conditions on the shape memory behavior of the sample. It was found that the high crystallinity of the soft segment regions at room temperature and the formation of stable hard segment domains acting as physical crosslinks in the temperature range above the melting temperature of the soft segment crystals are the two necessary conditions for a segmented copolymer with shape memory behavior. The response temperature of shape memory is dependent on the melting temperature of the soft segment crystals. The final recovery rate and the recovery speed are mainly related to the stability of the hard segment domains under stretching and are dependent on the hard segment content of the copolymers. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 1511–1516, 1997     

Evaluation of nanoparticulate fillers for development of shape memory polyurethane nanocomposites

The effects of nano-size fillers on shape memory (SM) properties of polyurethane (PU) nanocomposites were evaluated. Organoclay, carbon nanofiber (CNF), silicon carbide (SiC), and carbon black (CB) were selected as the fillers in an attempt to reinforce the PU and to obtain significantly increased shape recovery stress. The shape memory PU was synthesized from diphenylmethane diisocyanate, 1,4-butanediol, and poly(caprolactone)diol, the latter with a molecular weight of 4000 g/mol. The composites were prepared by melt mixing of extended chain PU with the fillers. The shape memory behavior was triggered by heating the specimen above the melting point of the crystalline soft segment. Our results indicate that exfoliated organoclay significantly augments SM performance, while CNF and SiC diminish it by interfering with crystallization of the soft segment. CB destroys the shape memory properties beyond a certain loading. Better SM performance with organoclay can be attributed to mechanical reinforcement without much interference with the soft segment crystallinity. The reduction of soft segment crystallinity in the presence of CNF and SiC was analyzed. It was found that the extent of crystallinity, as well as the crystallization temperature, was significantly reduced in the presence of these fillers.     

液化MDI基形状记忆聚氨酯扩链剂的选择研究

在选定液化MDI和聚己二酸丁二醇酯(PBAG)软段原料的前提下，采用双酚A(FA)、乙二醇(ED)、1，4-丁二醇(BD)、1，6-己二醇(HD)、一缩乙二醇(DE)扩链剂合成了一系列形状记忆聚氨酯(SMPU)；用FT-IR、DSC对样品的结构进行了分析，并考察了它们的形状记忆性能和力学性能。结果发现，扩链剂对SMPU有一定影响，用FA、ED扩链的SMPU具有较好的微相分离，而DE扩链的具有较好的软段结晶性能；FA、HD的SMPU具有较低的形状回复温度和较快的形状回复速率，HD、DE扩链的则具有较好形状固定性能，FA、DE扩链的SMPU循环使用性能较好；同时FA、HD的SMPU具有较高的弹性模量与力学强度。     

Influences of phase composition and thermomechanical conditions on shape memory properties of segmented polyurethanes with amorphous reversible phase

We synthesized series of shape memory polyurethanes with amorphous reversible phase (T_g‐SMPUs) and systematically studied their microphase structure and shape memory properties. The T_g‐SMPUs having no or less hard phase showed lower shape recovery. When the volume fraction of hard phase was in the range of 20–30%, the T_g‐SMPUs exhibited the highest shape recovery. As the fraction of hard phase increased further the shape recovery decreased, because more polymer components with higher glass transition temperatures (T_gs) would participate in strain storage. For the T_g‐SMPUs having similar T_gs, those polymers having higher volume fraction of hard phase exhibited higher shape fixity, broader shape recovery region, and larger recovery stress. Increasing deformation strain could raise shape fixity and recovery stress but broaden shape recovery region. The highest recovery stress of a material could be achieved when the deformation occurred at its glass transition temperature below which decreasing deformation temperature could not increase recovery stress further. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2012. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Study on the liquefied‐MDI‐based shape memory polyurethanes

A series of liquefied‐MDI‐based polyurethanes having shape memory behavior, with various soft segments, chain extenders, and micro‐phase separation promoters were synthesized. Their morphology and properties were investigated in terms of thermal properties, dynamic mechanical properties, and shape recovery behavior. The results indicate that the soft segment formed with longer chain segment incline to crystallize during the cooling scans and the resulting SMPU have the higher crystallinity. Meanwhile, the chain extenders, which can enhance the polarity of hard segment, incline to have excellent shape memory properties with bigger storage modulus in rubbery state too. It was also found that the micro‐phase separation promoters have great influence on the shape memory behavior due to the enhancement of micro‐phase separation of SMPU. Furthermore, it was proved again that SMPU with longer soft segment and lower hard segment contents usually showed good shape memory behavior. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007     

Design and development of graphene oxide/shape memory nanocomposite based on hexamethylene diisocyanate mixing segment

Shape memory polymers are remarkable materials renowned for their distinctive ability to fix and recover their original shape in response to specific stimuli. However, the lower shape fixity (SF) of conventional thermally triggered shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) has limited its broad application potential. This study investigates the transformative influence of graphene oxide (GO) nanofillers when incorporated into a linear diisocyanate-based mixing segment SMPU (SMPU-GO). The lower SF issue of SMPU is ingeniously addressed by leveraging the interactive properties of GO with the 4,4′-methylene bis-phenyl diisocyanate hard segment and the introduction of additional physical cross-links via hexamethylene diisocyanate mixing segment. At 1 wt.% GO incorporation, the modulus increased by 178%, an 8% increase in tensile strength, while the elasticity was maintained. Excellent improvement in SF and shape recovery (SR) was attained at 1 wt.% GO incorporated SMPU, and the SMPU nanocomposite showed the highest SF (65%) and SR (100%) at 70°C temperature and 50% strain.     

Effect of cationic group content on shape memory effect in segmented polyurethane cationomer

To illustrate the importance of cationic groups within hard segments on shape memory effect in segmented polyurethane (PU) cationomers, the shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) cationomers composed of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), 1,4‐butanediol (BDO), and N‐methyldiethanolamine (NMDA) or N,N‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl)isonicotinamide (BIN) were synthesized. The comparison of shape memory effect between NMDA series and BIN series was made. The relations between the structure and shape memory effect of the two series of cationomers with various ionic group contents were investigated. It is observed that the stress at 100% elongation is reduced for these two series of PU cationomers with increasing ionic group content. Especially for NMDA series, the stress reduction is more significant. The fixity ratio and recovery ratio of the NMDA series can be improved simultaneously by the insertion of cationic groups within hard segments, but not for the BIN series. Characterizations with DSC and DMA suggest that the crystallibility of soft segment in SMPU cationomers was enhanced by incorporation of ionic groups into hard segments, leading to a relative high degree of soft segment crystallization; compared with the corresponding nonionomers, incorporation of charged ionic groups within hard segments can enhance the cohesion force among hard segments particularly at high ionic group content. This methodology offers good control of the shape memory characteristic in thin films and is believed to be beneficial to the shape memory textile industries. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 545–556, 2007     

Vegetable oil/styrene thermoset copolymers with shape memory behavior and damping capacity

The mechanical and damping properties as well as the shape memory behavior of copolymers obtained by cationic copolymerization of tung oil with styrene with different stoichiometric ratios are presented and analyzed in this work. The glass transition temperatures are close to room temperature for all the copolymers, and generally increase with the content of styrene. A similar trend is observed for the modulus, which exhibits values from 4.89 MPa for the copolymer with 30 wt% styrene to 13.92 MPa for the copolymer with 70 wt% styrene. These hard elastomers present shape memory behavior with high recovery and fixity ratios, as well as high damping quality (damping factors 0.4 and 1.38 at 28.9 and 43.3 °C, for the tung oil homopolymer and the copolymer with 70 wt% styrene, respectively), opening possibilities for practical applications that require material response close to room temperature. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Dependency of the shape memory properties of a polyurethane upon thermomechanical cyclic conditions

The relationship between the shape memory properties and thermomechanical cyclic conditions was investigated with a type of shape memory polyurethane (SMPU). The thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of the polyurethane were examined by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). It was found that the SMPU exhibited good shape memory effects (SMEs) at deformation temperatures ranging from T_g to T_g + 25 °C. The strain recovery ratios increased with the increase of deformation speed and with the decrease in maximum strain. The recovery ratios also increased with increasing fixing speed. Therefore, in practical applications, in order to obtain better SMEs, the SMPU should be cooled to its frozen state as soon as possible after being deformed at a high temperature. The ‘fixity’ dramatically increased with the decrease in fixing temperature. To obtain optimal SMEs, the polymer has to be reheated up to the temperature at which the polymer deformed. In addition, the recovery ratios of the SMPU could increase slightly with the increase of recovery time. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Thermal induced shape‐memory and self‐healing of segmented polyurethane containing diselenide bonds

Herein, we synthesized a series of polyurethane copolymers (PUs) with poly(1,4‐butylene adipate) glycol as soft segment and 2,4‐toluene diisocyanate as well as extenders including 1,4‐butanediol and di(1‐hydroxyethylene) diselenide as hard segment. The chemical structure, thermal property, crystallization behavior, shape memory, and self‐healing performances of the PUs were systematically characterized by a series of experiments. It was found that the PU2 containing a higher diselenide component (～33 mol %) exhibited both shape memory and self‐healing behaviors under a moderate temperature (～57 °C). Meanwhile, the PUs showed a good repeatability of shape memory function, and their fixity and recovery ratios were all above 90%. Additionally, the dynamic exchangeable feature of diselenide bonding endues the PUs chains with an acceptable reprocessability and self‐healing performances, and the PU2 sample could be healed for five times by thermal treatment with the healing efficiencies above 70%. This work provides a heuristic perspective for the development of shape memory and self‐healing materials. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46326.     

Development of shape memory polyurethane based on polyethylene glycol and liquefied 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate using a bulk method for biomedical applications

In this study, a series of shape memory polyurethanes (SMPUs) were synthesized successfully by the bulk polymerization method from liquefied 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (L‐MDI), 1,4‐butanediol (BDO) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The influence of the hard segment content (HSC) on the structure, morphology, properties and biocompatibility of PEG based SMPUs (PEGSMPUs) was carefully investigated. The results show that a microphase separation structure composed of a semicrystalline soft phase and an amorphous hard phase is formed in the PEG6000/L‐MDI/BDO system. Crystallization of the PEG soft segment is influenced by the hard segments. The PEG semicrystalline soft phase serves as a reversible phase while the L‐MDI?BDO hard segment acts as physical netpoints. Finally, a cyclic tensile test shows that all PEGSMPUs have good shape recovery (e.g. above 80%), whereas good shape fixity can only be achieved when the HSC is less than 35 wt%. The Cell Counting Kit 8 assay also demonstrates that only PEGSMPUs containing less than 40 wt% HSC have low cytotoxicity. It is thus concluded that PEGSMPUs bearing both good shape memory effects and good biocompatibility can be used as shape memory materials for biomedical applications when the HSC is less than 35 wt%. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

UV curable micro-structured shape memory epoxy with tunable performance

Micro-structured shape memory polymer (SMP) surfaces are indispensable in various applications. Epoxy polymer emerged as an ideal candidate for SMP surfaces due to its low curing shrinkage and superior thermo-mechanical properties. In this study, we develop a UV curable epoxy system with tunable glass transition temperature and superior shape memory performance. The glass transition temperatures can widely range from 49 to 164°C by simply tuning the ratio of two comonomers. All samples possess excellent shape fixity, shape recovery ratios, and cycling stability. The synergy of the moldable liquid epoxy precursors and the spatiotemporal UV light allows shape memory epoxy with both surface microstructures and complex macro-geometries. We anticipate this UV curable epoxy will expand the scopes of surface shape memory applications.     

A smart hollow filament with thermal sensitive internal diameter

In this work, a thermoplastic shape memory polyurethane was prepared via melt polymerization and a corresponding shape memory hollow fiber was fabricated via melt spinning. The fiber mechanical properties, especially shape memory effect, were characterized by static tensile, thermo‐mechanical cyclic tensile testing. The hollow fiber switching temperature was the melting transition temperature of the soft segment phase at about 41°C. The tenacity of the hollow fiber was about 1.14 cN/dtex, and breaking elongation was 682%. The shape fixity ratio was above 87% and the recovery ratio was above 89%. The internal diameter of the hollow fiber could be noticeably changed and the deformed fiber cross‐section could be well fixed. Once heated above the soft segment phase melting transition temperature, the hollow fiber internal hole recovered to its original diameter. The results from differential scanning calorimetry, X‐ray diffraction, and dynamic mechanical analysis were used to illustrate the mechanism governing the mechanical properties and shape memory effect especially. Due to the changes of the hollow fiber and the internal diameter affect of the physical properties of the prepared products, this fiber may be used in smart textiles for thermal management, or as stuffing of pillows and mattresses, which can adjust to body contours. Furthermore, the findings suggest that this kind of hollow fiber with thermal sensitive internal diameter could be used in smart filtration, drug‐controlled release, and liquid transportation in vivo. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

The role of branching architecture in shape memory semi-IPNs: Shape memory effect and tube model analysis

The impact of branching architecture of one continuous uncrosslinked phase on properties of classic shape memory semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPNs) was explored. Crosslinked poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/star-shaped polyethylene glycol (PEG) (PMMA/SPEG) semi-IPNs and PMMA/linear PEG (PMMA/LPEG) semi-IPNs were synthesized with the same PEG content. Mechanical properties, phase structure, thermal properties, dynamic mechanical properties, and shape memory properties of these two semi-IPNs systems were compared. Due to the better compatibility of SPEG in the PMMA network, which was derived from little crystallization compared with PMMA/LPEG semi-IPNs, PMMA/SPEG semi-IPNs exhibited a combination of large tensile strength and high elongation at break. PMMA/SPEG semi-IPNs, which had little crystallization exhibited superior shape recovery versus PMMA/LPEG semi-IPNs, which had more crystallization. Moreover, the higher the crystallinity in PMMA/PEG semi-IPNs was the worse long-term temporary shape retention. Based on tube model theory, the high shape recovery capacity of PMMA/SPEG semi-IPNs is mainly ascribed to the retraction of free PEG arms, which is entropically favorable and thermally activated due to the fluctuations of the path length. This result is supported by stress relaxation analysis and the influence of long shape fixity time on shape fixity ratio for these two systems.     

Characterization of nanocellulose‐ reinforced shape memory polyurethanes

BACKGROUND: Shape memory polymers are capable of fixing a transient shape and of recovering their original dimensions by the application of an external stimulus. Their major drawback is their low stiffness compared to smart materials based on metals and ceramics. To overcome this disadvantage, nanocellulose was utilized as reinforcement. RESULTS: Composites were prepared by casting stable nanocellulose/segmented polyurethane suspensions. The heat of melting of the polyurethane soft segment phase increased on cellulose addition. Composites showed higher tensile modulus and strength than unfilled films (53% modulus increase at 1 wt% nanocellulose), with higher elongation at break. Creep deformation decreased as cellulose concentration increased (36% decrease in 60‐minute creep by addition of 1 wt% nanocellulose). The nanocomposites displayed shape memory properties equivalent to those of the neat polyurethane, with recoveries of the order of 95% (referred to second and further cycles). CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to markedly improve the rigidity of shape memory polymers by adding small amounts of well‐dispersed nanocellulose. However, this improvement did not have substantial effects on the material shape fixity or recovery. Shape memory behavior seems to continue to be controlled by the polymer properties. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

聚已内酯/聚氨酯共聚热致形状记忆材料的合成与表征

以聚己内酯（PCL）为软段,甲苯2,4-二异氰酸酯（TDI）为硬段,通过预聚合和扩链反应制得含结晶软段的聚氨酯形状记忆材料（SMPU）,通过差热分析、红外分析及X射线衍射对其微结构进行了表征。结果表明,随着硬段含量的增加,SMPU的结晶熔融温度上升,结晶度下降,形状回复率减小,形状固定率始终保持在98 %左右;随着PCL相对分子质量的提高,SMPU的结晶熔融温度减小,结晶度增大,回复响应温度逐渐降低。