Interstaller in PDMS Membrane

Zhang, Qian

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/75907 Copy

Description

Title

Interstaller in PDMS Membrane

Author(s)

Zhang, Qian

Contributor(s)

Hutchens, Shelby

Issue Date

2015-04

Keyword(s)

Mechanical Science and Engineering

Abstract

Soft matter accounts for roughly 70% of our bodies and permeates the dynamic world around us. Soft materials have an inherent ability to sustain large elastic strains while sharing diffusivity and reactivity mechanism with solutions. These characteristics allow soft materials to actuate and accommodate motion. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is an optically clear stretchable semi-permeable soft material that is widely used in contact lenses, shampoos (as dimethicone makes hair shiny and slippery), and microfluidic devices etc. PDMS acts like a viscous liquid at room temperature and it becomes an elastic solid after curing. This picture shows the microstructure of 420x zoom of a 400um thickness PDMS membrane using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The pores in PDMS allow for the diffusion of the solvent molecules across the membrane; this characteristic is promising in the fields of medical applications. My research looks into the PDMS membrane permeability enhancement via mechanical stretching. This study aims in the optimizability of intrinsic material behavior to inform the design of new stretchable, mechanically robust, selectively permeable soft materials.

Type of Resource

• text
• image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/75907

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2015 Qian Zhang

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