title: Photo-regeneration of severed gel with iniferter-mediated photo-growth.
abstract: Using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD), we developed a computational approach to model the light-induced regeneration of a gel matrix when a significant portion of the material is severed. We considered photo-controlled radical polymerization (photo-CRP) within polymer networks with embedded iniferter groups: the "photo-growth" strategy. Absorption of light by the iniferter groups turns on the polymerization process, which inserts monomers and cross-linkers into the network strands. Photo-growth allows us to effectively regenerate a severed gel under the application of light even when the severed parts are not in direct contact. The growth process can be turned off once the polymerization is near completion to yield a new cross-linked gel that resembles the uncut material.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA. balazs@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Awaneesh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kuksenok
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Jeremiah A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9157-6491
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA. balazs@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Anna C
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5555-2692
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Balazs