화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, Vol.40, No.1, 105-114, 2002
Elastic behavior of bimodal poly(dimethylsiloxane) networks
The rubberlike elastic behavior of bimodal poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) networks was investigated by the Monte Carlo simulation method and enumeration calculation method on the basis of the rotational-isomeric-state (RIS) model. These bimodal PDMS networks consist of short chains (chain length from 10 to 20) as well as long chains (chain length equal to 150), For long PDMS chains, through generating many PDMS conformations in the equilibrium state using the Monte Carlo simulation method we can obtain the average Helmholtz free energy and the average energy. For short PDMS chains with chain lengths from 10 to 20, as the total number of conformations is only from 6.56 X 10(3) to 3.87 X 10(8), we adopt the enumeration calculation method. The deformation is partitioned nonaffinely between the long and short chains, and this partitioning can be determined by requiring the free energy of the deformed network to be minimized. Chain dimensions and thermodynamic statistical properties of bimodal PDMS networks at various elongation ratios are discussed. We find that elastic force f increases with elongation ratio lambda; the energy contribution f(u) to elastic force is significant, and the ratio of ranges from 0.15 to 0.36 at T = 343 K. In the meantime, elastic force f increases with the average energy (U). The energy change in the process of tensile elongation is taken over, which has been ignored in previous theories. Our calculations may provide some insights into the phenomena of rubberlike elasticity of bimodal networks.