title: A toolbox of oligopeptide-modified polymers for tailored elastomers.
abstract: Biomaterials are constructed from limited sets of building blocks but exhibit extraordinary and versatile properties, because hierarchical structure formation lets them employ identical supramolecular motifs for different purposes. Here we exert a similar degree of structural control in synthetic supramolecular elastomers and thus tailor them for a broad range of thermomechanical properties. We show that oligopeptide-terminated polymers selectively self-assemble into small aggregates or nanofibrils, depending on the length of the oligopeptides. This process is self-sorting if differently long oligopeptides are combined so that different nanostructures coexist in bulk mixtures. Blends of polymers with oligopeptides matching in length furnish reinforced elastomers that exhibit shear moduli one order of magnitude higher than the parent polymers. By contrast, novel interpenetrating supramolecular networks that display excellent vibration damping properties are obtained from blends comprising non-matching oligopeptides or unmodified polymers. Hence, blends of oligopeptide-modified polymers constitute a toolbox for tailored elastomers with versatile properties.
authors.affiliation: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Materials, Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Materials, EPFL - STI - IMX - LMOM, MXG 037, Station 12, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Croisier
authors.affiliation: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Materials, Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Materials, EPFL - STI - IMX - LMOM, MXG 037, Station 12, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Su
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: ETH Zürich, Department of Materials, HCI H 531, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schweizer
authors.affiliation: Adolphe Merkle Institute, Route de l'Ancienne Papeterie, CP209, CH-1723 Marly 1, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sandor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balog
authors.affiliation: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Materials, Powder Technology Laboratory, EPFL - STI - IMX - LTP, MXD 333, Station 12, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marijana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mionić
authors.affiliation: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Materials, Laboratory of Construction Materials, EPFL - STI - IMX - LMC, MXG 234, Station 12, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ruben
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Snellings
authors.affiliation: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Laboratory of Applied Mechanics and Reliability Analysis, EPFL - STI - IGM - LMAF, ME C1 390, Station 9, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Joël
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cugnoni
authors.affiliation: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Materials, Laboratory of Polymer and Composite Technology, EPFL - STI - IMX - LTC, MXH 147, Station 12, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Michaud
authors.affiliation: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Materials, Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Materials, EPFL - STI - IMX - LMOM, MXG 037, Station 12, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Frauenrath
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D020724:Elastomers / Q000737:chemistry*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011090:Polyenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020724:Elastomers; D009842:Oligopeptides; D011090:Polyenes; D011108:Polymers; C008967:polyisobutylene