Plastics are increasingly being used for the fabrication of Lab-on-a-Chip devices due to the variety of beneficial material properties, affordable cost, and straightforward fabrication methods available from a range of different types of plastics. Rapid prototyping of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices has become a well-known process for the quick and easy fabrication of microfluidic devices i...

A covalent adaptable network reinforced with microfibrillated cellulose is found to be an attractive intermediate between a thermoset and thermoplastic material.

Rigidization of inflatable space structures via internal resistive heating requires carbon fiber reinforced material to consolidate and cure on-command. In terms of the spacecraft’s life, the rigidization process transforms a structurally weak “balloon” into a robust, stable design. Internal resistive heating provides an active approach for inducing permanent shapeholding and structural stiffen...

Electronic skin (e-skin) mimicking functionalities and mechanical properties of natural skin can find broad applications. We report the first dynamic covalent thermoset-based e-skin, which is connected through robust covalent bonds, rendering the resulting devices good chemical and thermal stability at service condition. By doping the dynamic covalent thermoset with conductive silver nanopartic...

The microdeformation and fracture mechanisms of a densely crosslinked, polydomain, smectic liquid crystalline thermoset (LCT) were investigated in order to gain some insight into its interesting mechanical properties (e.g. improved fracture toughness). A difunctional LC epoxy monomer, diglycidyl ether of 4,4′-dihydroxy-α-methylstilbene (DGDHMS), was crosslinked with the tetrafunctional, aromati...