Mitchell Maw, Benjamin J. Morgan, Erfan Dashtimoghadam, Yuan Tian, Egor A. Bersenev, Alina V. Maryasevskaya, Dimitri A. Ivanov, Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, Andrey V. Dobrynin, and Sergei S. Sheiko We unveil universal correlations between architectural parameters and nonlinear elastic properties of brush polymer networks. A comprehensive library of poly(n-butyl acrylate), poly(dimethylsiloxane), … Read more

Michael Jacobs, Heyi Liang, and Andrey V. Dobrynin Hybrid networks are made of different types of polymer strands, which could differ by their degrees of polymerization (DPs), chemical structure, or rigidity (Kuhn length). Examples of such networks include biological networks … Read more

Haley Starvaggi, Yuan Tian, Heyi Liang, and Andrey V. Dobrynin We use a combination of scaling analysis, random phase approximation (RPA) calculations, and coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to elucidate properties of graft polymers with a bimodal distribution of side … Read more

Andrew N. Keith, Charles Clair, Abdelaziz Lallam, Egor A. Bersenev, Dimitri A. Ivanov, Yuan Tian, Andrey V. Dobrynin, and Sergei S. Sheiko Softness and firmness are opposing traits that synergistically define the elastic response of biological systems. Currently, no single … Read more

Ekaterina B. Zhulina, Sergei S. Sheiko, Andrey V. Dobrynin, and Oleg V. Borisov We present an analytical theory of microphase separation in the melt of bottlebrush and comblike block copolymers in the strong segregation limit. The constructed phase diagram predicts … Read more

Vahid Karimkhani, Mohammad Vatankhah-Varnosfaderani, Andrew N. Keith, Erfan Dashtimoghadam, Benjamin J. Morgan, Michael Jacobs, Andrey V. Dobrynin, and Sergei S. Sheiko One of the notorious problems in dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) is electromechanical instability resulting in uncontrolled breakdown, which precludes … Read more

Andrew N. Keith, Mohammad Vatankhah-Varnosfaderani, Charles Clair, Farahnaz Fahimipour, Erfan Dashtimoghadam, Abdelaziz Lallam, Michael Sztucki, Dimitri A. Ivanov, Heyi Liang, Andrey V. Dobrynin, and Sergei S. Sheiko Softness and firmness are seemingly incompatible traits that synergize to create the unique … Read more

Heyi Liang, Zilu Wang, and Andrey V. Dobrynin We study the strain-adaptive behavior of the self-assembled networks of linear-bottlebrush-linear (LBL) triblock copolymers using a combination of analytical calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. Interactions between immiscible blocks result in microphase separation … Read more

Heyi Liang, Gary S. Grest, and Andrey V. Dobrynin Dynamics of melts and solutions of high molecular weight polymers and biopolymers is controlled by topological constraints (entanglements) imposing a sliding chain motion along an effective confining tube. For linear chains, … Read more

Sergei S. Sheiko and Andrey V. Dobrynin The current approach to regulating mechanical properties of elastomeric materials is predominately based on the exploratory mixing of different polymers, solvents, and fillers—which is both inflexible in application and imprecise in property control. … Read more