ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Distribution of alkane probes in heterogeneous PDMS resins

Abstract: Silicone elastomers are well known to have a network structure, but it is also apparent from AFM studies that there is a larger scale network of densely and sparsely cross-linked regions on a nm scale. We wish to better understand this distribution and its implications for the permeation and distribution of small molecules in such networks. Our first experiment with a surfactant additive in PDMS revealed this heterogeneous structure, but we could not resolve the scattering contributions arising from the PDMS structure, and the long or short-range organisation of the surfactant. Using a series of homologous alkane additives, which have systematically varying entropy and enthalpy of mixing, we will isolate the PDMS structure in terms of densely and sparsely cross-linked regions. This will be invaluable in (i) interpreting data for complex additives and (ii) computational modelling.

Principal Investigator: Dr Richard Thompson
Experimenter: Mr Matthew Litwinowicz
Local Contact: Dr Najet Mahmoudi

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2010622

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2010622

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Richard Thompson et al; (2020): Distribution of alkane probes in heterogeneous PDMS resins, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2010622

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.