Methyl Methacrylate-Based Copolymers: Recent Developments in the Areas of Transparent and Stretchable Active Matrices

Abstract

The recent advancements of poly­(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as a transparent flexible polymer material have been utilized in numerous areas of engineering and materials science. PMMA-based copolymers demonstrate outstanding mechanical and optical properties owing to high transparency, lightweight nature, high impact resistance, and stress relaxation across glass transition temperature. These copolymers have unique characteristics of retaining optical and microstructural integrities during successive bending or elongations which make them an attractive choice for materials of stretchable electronics. In particular, there has been an escalated rise in the use of methyl methacrylate (MMA)-based transparent and stretchable copolymer films during the recent decades. Therefore, we have highlighted these recent developments into a comprehensive review in order to aid the future progress in these diverse fields. Herein, we have highlighted the scope of MMA as an important building block for the synthesis of highly transparent and flexible materials. The synthetic pathways of these copolymer materials and the resulting mechanical properties have been discussed. Moreover, the immense scope of these copolymer films has been highlighted by virtue of their applications in various industries.

Improving Gene Delivery: Synergy between Alkyl Chain Length and Lipoic Acid for PDMAEMA Hydrophobic Copolymers

“…Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization technique was utilized for all syntheses owing to its versatility, ability to synthesize polymers with complex architectures, and narrow molar mass distributions. [31][32][33] First, a kinetic study was conducted with DMAEMA, LAMA, and nBMA as monomers to establish uniform reaction conditions for all polymerizations. The kinetics were performed over a 21 h period at 70 °C using 4-Cyano-4-[[(ethylthio)thioxomethyl]thio]pentanoic acid (CPAETC) as the chain transfer agent and 4,4′-azobis(4cyanovaleric acid) (ACVA) as initiator (Figure 1).…”

Silicone Materials for Flexible Optoelectronic Devices

“…Hawker et al demonstrated that the use of PDMS-block-PMMA helps to create domain periods as small as 12.1 nm, which is one of the smallest highly ordered nanoscale patterns (Figure 4). This opens up the possibility of creating nanoscale processors, transistors, and devices with high resolution by sub-10 nm lithography [63,64]. Optical transparency is desirable for polymer material in order for it to be used in optoelectronics.…”

“…The transparency of the material was adjusted by changing the molar ratio MOI (x) in SigUMAx. Despite the improved optical properties, PDMS-block-PMMA copolymers have not been widely applied in the field of optoelectronics, because their preparation involves multiple stages of synthesis [62,63,65].…”

Novel Life Prediction Method of PMMA for Cultural Relics Protection Based on the BP Neural Network

“…Poly­(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) has the advantages of high transparency, high mechanical strength, lightweight, easy processing, good dielectric properties, and insulation, and has been widely used in various fields such as architecture, aviation, medicine, and the chemical industry. − It is also used in museum artifact preservation and exhibition, allowing archeologists and other researchers to directly observe artifacts. Due to the characteristics of this organic polymer material, long-term exposure to sunlight and air can result in a certain degree of aging, which manifests as molecular chain degradation and molecular weight reduction at the microscopic level, and a decrease in optical properties such as light transmittance, as well as reduced toughness, tensile strength, and fatigue strength at the macroscopic level . Therefore, it is necessary to regularly check its aging degree and replace it according to a cycle to prevent the reduction of light transmittance and yellowing caused by PMMA aging from affecting the display effect of artifacts or even causing them to crack and damage.…”