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. 2020 Sep 14;25(18):4203.
doi: 10.3390/molecules25184203.

The Effect of POSS Type on the Shape Memory Properties of Epoxy-Based Nanocomposites

Avraham I Bram  1   2   3 , Irina Gouzman  2 , Asaf Bolker  2 , Noam Eliaz  1 , Ronen Verker  2
Affiliations

The Effect of POSS Type on the Shape Memory Properties of Epoxy-Based Nanocomposites

Avraham I Bram et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Thermally activated shape memory polymers (SMPs) can memorize a temporary shape at low temperature and return to their permanent shape at higher temperature. These materials can be used for light and compact space deployment mechanisms. The control of transition temperature and thermomechanical properties of epoxy-based SMPs can be done using functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) additives, which are also known to improve the durability to atomic oxygen in the space environment. In this study, the influence of varying amounts of two types of POSS added to epoxy-based SMPs on the shape memory effect (SME) were studied. The first type contained amine groups, whereas the second type contained epoxide groups. The curing conditions were defined using differential scanning calorimetry and glass transition temperature (Tg) measurements. Thermomechanical and SME properties were characterized using dynamic mechanical analysis. It was found that SMPs containing amine-based POSS show higher Tg, better shape fixity and faster recovery speed, while SMPs containing epoxide-based POSS have higher crosslinking density and show superior thermomechanical properties above Tg. This work demonstrates how the Tg and SME of SMPs can be controlled by the type and amount of POSS in an epoxy-based SMP nanocomposite for future space applications.

Keywords: epoxy; nanocomposite; polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS); shape memory effect (SME); shape memory polymer (SMP).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms of (a) epoxide (EP)–EPOSS, (b) amine (AM)–EPOSS samples, and (c) temperature profiles of the curing (100 °C for 1.5 h) and post-curing (130 °C for 1 h) processes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The effect of post-curing time on the glass transition temperatures deduced from both differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) measurements for 50 AM and a post-curing temperature of 130 °C.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The effect of POSS type and content on the degree of curing of EP–EPOSS and AM–EPOSS.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The effect of POSS type and content on the glass transition temperature of EP–EPOSS and AM–EPOSS samples. The error bars are smaller than |±1.6| °C.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The effect of POSS type and content on the storage modulus of EP–EPOSS and AM–EPOSS shape memory polymers (SMPs) at (a) 30 °C and (b) 120 °C.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The effect of POSS type and content on the crosslinking density of EP–EPOSS and AM–EPOSS samples.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Typical EPOSS SMP in its U-like temporary shape (a), during deployment (b), and in its final permanent shape (c).
Figure 8
Figure 8
The effect of POSS type and content on (a) the shape fixity and (b) the shape recovery of EP–EPOSS and AM–EPOSS SMPs.
Figure 9
Figure 9
The influence of SME cycles on bending stress of representative EPOSS samples.
Figure 10
Figure 10
The effect of POSS type and content on the recovery speed of EP–EPOSS and AM–EPOSS SMPs.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Molecular structures of (a) EPON 826 epoxy resin monomer, (b) Jeffamine D230 crosslinker, (c) EP0409 glycidyl POSS (EP–POSS), and (d) AM0281 N-phenylaminopropyl POSS (AM–POSS) [51,77,78]. Reprinted from Polymer, Vol. 50, Xie and Rousseau, Facile tailoring of thermal transition temperatures of epoxy shape memory polymers, 1852–1856, Copyright (2009), with permission from Elsevier.
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