Integrated manufacturing of REciclable multi-material COmposites for the TRANSport sector

Stimuli?responsive mechano?adaptive materials, capable of reversibly changing their mechanical properties when exposed to an external stimulus, are the next generation of smart materials with immense transformative potential for various technological applications. Although the concept of adaptive mechanical properties has been proven for some materials, it remains very challenging for soft elastomeric materials. The aim of this review is to provide new ideas and strategies for the development of mechano?adaptive elastomeric composites using commercial rubber as the matrix polymer. The fundamental question addressed here is: How do the phase?responsive functional fillers alter the mechanical properties? For a given physical network environment, what is the mechanism that gives rise to the stimuli?responsive properties of the resulting composites?? This paper summarizes the preparation, structure and properties of recently developed mechano?adaptive elastomeric materials. Furthermore, based on their structure?property relationships, plausible applications of these smart materials in various technology?specific applications such as soft robotics, actuators, sensors, smart tires, automotive design, aerospace etc. are demonstrated with representative examples. Finally, the paper critically discusses the existing challenges in the field of mechano?adaptive elastomers in order to provide valuable insights in this area.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

» Author: Tuhin Dolui, Tamil S. Natarajan, Aiswarya S, Jagannath Chanda, Prasenjit Ghosh, Rabindra Mukhopadhyay, Sven Wießner, Gert Heinrich, Amit Das, Shib Shankar Banerjee

» Publication Date: 09/08/2023

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