Elastomers of Oligocellulose Derivatives with Tunable Structures and Properties

Oligocellulose (OC) with low polydispersity indices has been produced through acid-assisted hydrolysis of long cellulose chains in concentrated phosphoric acid at elevated temperatures. A series of OC-graft-poly(isobornyl methacrylate-random-n-butyl acrylate) [OC-g-P(IBOMA-r-BA)] elastomers have been synthesized via activators regenerated by electron transfer for atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP). Tunable molecular architectures and phase morphologies structure and corresponding mechanical properties have been demonstrated. The synergistic behaviors of physical and chemical crosslinking networks are responsible for the unique mixture of elasticity and plasticity and the evolution of hysteresis in cyclic deformation.