title: Designing mechanomutable composites: reconfiguring the structure of nanoparticle networks through mechanical deformation.
abstract: Via a new dynamic, three-dimensional computer model, we simulate the tensile deformation of polymer-grafted nanoparticles that are cross-linked by labile bonds, which can readily rupture and reform. For a range of relatively high strains, the network does not fail, but rather restructures into a stable, ordered structure. Within this network, the reshuffling of the labile bonds enables the formation of this new morphology. The results provide guidelines for designing mechano-responsive hybrid materials that undergo controllable structural transitions through the application of applied forces.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania 15261, United States.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hamer
authors.forename: Balaji V S
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Iyer
authors.forename: Victor V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Yashin
authors.forename: Anna C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Balazs