A predictive parameter for the shape memory behavior of thermoplastic polymers

Mechanical Behavior of Filled Thermoplastic Polymers

Initiation of shape-memory effect by inductive heating of magnetic nanoparticles in thermoplastic polymers.

In shape-memory polymers, changes in shape are mostly induced by heating, and exceeding a specific switching temperature, T(switch). If polymers cannot be warmed up by heat transfer using a hot liquid or gaseous medium, noncontact triggering will be required. In this article, the magnetically induced shape-memory effect of composites from magnetic nanoparticles and thermoplastic shape-memory po...

Shape-memory polymers.

Material scientists predict a prominent role in the future for self-repairing and intelligent materials. Throughout the last few years, this concept has found growing interest as a result of the rise of a new class of polymers. These so-called shape-memory polymers by far surpass well-known metallic shape-memory alloys in their shape-memory properties. As a consequence of the relatively easy ma...

Design strategies for shape memory polymers

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are polymeric materials capable of recovering from a ‘fixed’ temporary shape to a ‘memorized’ permanent shape upon exposure to an external stimulus. Two structural elements are required for a polymer to exhibit useful shape memory: a network structure that defines the permanent shape (the ‘memory’), and a switching segment that induces a significant change in the mo...

Shape memory polymers for active cell culture.

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a class of "smart" materials that have the ability to change from a fixed, temporary shape to a pre-determined permanent shape upon the application of a stimulus such as heat(1-5). In a typical shape memory cycle, the SMP is first deformed at an elevated temperature that is higher than its transition temperature, T(trans;) [either the melting temperature (T(m;))...