Capturing dissipation and adhesion using transient network theory

Associative networks are prevalent in many fields and are of interest for applications where it is important that these materials are capable of adhering to their surroundings and/or provide a mechanism for dissipating energy in high-impact systems. However, little is known about the particular molecular behavior that differentiates these materials from their non-dissipative and non- adhesive associative counterparts. Here, we modify our previous work using the Smoluchowski equation to model the full network chain end-to-end distance distribution while tracking the population of individual chain conformations for chains that undergo multiple reaction intermediate steps. Thus, instead of the binary associated/dissociated states traditionally studied, we incorporate the ability for chains to partially dissociate and associate. This partial association/dissociation results in stress relaxation due to chain extension. In steady shear and start-up of steady shear, dissipation within the network becomes a function of both the elastically stored energy and the bond energy released during dissociation events.