High-Throughput Method for Determining Modulus of Polymer Blends

Published

December 1, 2004

Author(s)

Carl G. Simon Jr., Naomi Eidelman, Y N. Deng, N Washburn

Abstract

Polymer blending is commonly used to create materials with improved mechanical properties, but the resulting material properties can have a complex dependence on composition and processing conditions (Paul, 1986). In order to accelerate polymer-blend characterization, we have developed a method for rapidly determining the modulus of polymer blends. A polymer blend gradient library of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PDLLA) was created using a three-syringe pump system and translation stage in the form a strip-shaped film on a glass substrate. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy confirmed that a gradient in composition ran along the long axis of the film, being PDLLA-rich on one end and PLLA-rich on the opposite end.Nanoindentation measurements were made along the gradients to obtain quantitative modulus data over a wide range of PLLA-PDLLA blend compositions for each polymer specimen. This novel, high-throughput approach to materials characterization provides engineers with a technique to accelerate materials development.

Citation

Macromolecular Rapid Communications

Volume

25

Issue

No. 24

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

biomaterial, combinatoral methods, FTIR microspectroscopy, high-throughput assay, nanoindentation, poly(lactic acid), polymer blend

Citation

Simon, C. , Eidelman, N. , Deng, Y. and Washburn, N. (2004), High-Throughput Method for Determining Modulus of Polymer Blends, Macromolecular Rapid Communications, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=852401 (Accessed October 15, 2025)