Heating/ethanol-response of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) with gradient pre-deformation and potential temperature sensor and anti-counterfeit applications

Abstract

In this paper, the heating/ethanol-response of a commercial poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) is investigated. All PMMA samples are pre-deformed by means of impression (surface compression with a mold) to introduce a gradient pre-strain/stress field. Two types of molds are applied in impression. One is a Singaporean coin and the other is a particularly designed mold with a variable protrusive feature on top. Two potential applications—temperature sensors to monitor overheating temperatures and anti-counterfeit labels with a water-mark that appears only upon heating to a particular temperature—are demonstrated. Since the heating-responsive shape memory effect (SME) is an intrinsic feature of almost all polymers, other conventional polymers may be used in such applications as well.

Influence of Long-Term Storage on Shape Memory Performance and Mechanical Behavior of Pre-stretched Commercial Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)

“…As such, we need to consider the influence of aging at around room temperature after programming [41], which is a topic that has been less explored so far [42,43], but that is utterly important from an engineering application point of view.The purpose of this paper is to experimentally investigate the influence of storage at 40 • C on the shape memory performance and mechanical behavior of a commercial poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), which is a typical engineering polymer, used in many applications, including optical lens [44,45] and plastic screw. This particular PMMA has been verified to have excellent heating-responsive SME in our previous studies (e.g., in [46,47]), and unlike some moisture/water-responsive SMPs (e.g., the polyurethane reported in [48]), it appears to be non-sensitive to moisture in air. PMMA and polycarbonates (PC) are typical amorphous polymer, and their SME was reported over 20 years ago [49,50].…”

“…PMMA sheet of 1 mm thickness from Ying Kwang Acrylic, Singapore (same type as used in [46,47]) was laser cut into dog-bone shaped samples with two different dimensions, one for characterization of the shape memory performance and the other for cyclic uniaxial tension to characterize the mechanical behavior right after programming or after storage (refer to Figure 1). A small piece (about 10 mg) was also prepared for a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) test.…”

Controlled evolution of surface patterns for ZnO coated on stretched PMMA upon thermal and solvent treatments

“…Such attractive features enable its applications in solar, sensor, battery electrolytes, optical, and conductive devices [34][35][36][37]. The SME of PMMA triggered by heating or solvent absorption in small strain condition has been previously reported [38][39][40]. Recently, various metal and oxide films have been deposited on the PMMA substrate to achieve different functional properties (for example, optical, and electrical), and a variety of surface patterns are generated by using the SME or thermal expansion mismatch [41].…”

Bio‐based Epoxy Resins from Epoxidized Plant Oils and Their Shape Memory Behaviors

“…Shape memory materials have a sensitive response to external stimuli, such as temperature, light, pH, humidity, chemicals, and electricity [13][14][15][16]. The thermally triggered shape memory-recovery effect is most common, where recovery takes place with respect to a certain transition temperature.…”