Radiation crosslinked shape-memory polymers

Shape-memory polymers (SMPs) are active smart materials with tunable stiffness changes at specific, tailored temperatures. The use of thermoset SMPs has been limited in commodity applications because a variety of common low-cost plastics processing techniques are not possible with network polymers. In this study of thermoset SMPs, beyond adjusting the glass transition temperature (T_g) between 25 and 75 °C and tuning the recoverable force between 0.5 and 13 MPa, a novel manufacturing process, Mnemosynation, is described. The customizable mechanical properties of traditional SMPs are coupled with traditional plastic processing techniques to enable a new generation of mass producible plastic products with thermosetting shape-memory properties: low residual strains, tunable recoverable force and adjustable T_g. The results of this study are intended to enable future advanced applications where mass manufacturing, the ability to accurately and independently position T_g and the ability to tune recoverable force in SMPs are required.