I'm looking for a simple method to change elastic modulus of PNIPAM, ideally by adding a single component to the polymer. the goal is to gain more rigidity, ant the requirement is the blend does not separate or get inhomogeneous with time. Any tip will be welcome!
You could consider adding something like t- or n- butyl acrylate as a comonomer. It also depends if you are making a thermset or thermoplastic. If you are making a thermoset, and crosslinking the polymer, modulus will go up with crosslinker concentration.
If you go to made copolymer, You can make that by using Acid acrylic or methyl metacrylate, because the Tg value of this homopolymers are higher than that of the n-butyl acrylate. Furthermore you can use a crosslinking agent to improve the elastic modulus and decrease the elongation.
Thank you Nolan and Edwin. There are useful tips. Could be Cl2Ca a good choice as crosslinker? Would Polyacrylic acid do as well as acrylic acid?
A blend partner for more rigity would be CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) but also inorganic reinforcing fillers like nano-TiO2 or organo clays should be considered.
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