Paper Number
PO72                         My Program 

Session
Poster Session

Title
Viscoelasticity and extensional rheology of polystyrene vitrimers

Presentation Date and Time
October 22, 2025 (Wednesday) 6:30

Track / Room
Poster Session / Sweeney Ballroom E+F

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

  1. Guarino, Teresiana (FORTH, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser)
  2. Russo, Arcangela (FORTH, Polymer and Colloids)
  3. Mavromanolakis, Antonis (FORTH)
  4. Conti, Matteo (ESPCI, Chimie Moléculaire, Macromoléculaire, Matériaux)
  5. Van Zee, Nathan (ESPCI)
  6. Nicolay, Renaud (ESPCI)
  7. Coppola, Salvatore (Versalis s.p.a.)
  8. Vlassopoulos, Dimitris (FORTH and University of Crete, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Teresiana Guarino1, Arcangela Russo1, Antonis Mavromanolakis1, Matteo Conti2, Nathan Van Zee2, Renaud Nicolay2, Salvatore Coppola3 and Dimitris Vlassopoulos1
1Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, FORTH, IRAKLEIOU, Greece; 2Chimie Moléculaire, Macromoléculaire, Matériaux, ESPCI, Paris, France; 3Versalis s.p.a., Ravenna, Italy

Speaker / Presenter 
Guarino, Teresiana

Keywords
experimental methods; applied rheology; polymer melts; sustainability

Text of Abstract
A formidable challenge in soft matter is to develop materials that combine the reprocessing capabilities of thermoplastics with the shape stability and mechanical strength of thermosets. Most approaches aim to create crosslinked networks with dynamic covalent bonds, which can reversibly form and break in response to changes in external conditions. Materials containing these dynamic covalent bonds are referred to as Covalent Adaptable Networks (CANs). A specific subset of CANs, known as vitrimers, was introduced by Leibler and colleagues in 2011. Vitrimers exhibit two key characteristics: they maintain stable network connectivity across a range of temperatures and can relieve mechanical stresses through bond exchange reactions. In this work, we present our current results on the linear and extensional rheology of a series of polystyrene vitrimers, where dynamic exchange reactions are facilitated by dioxaborolane metathesis. We show how crosslink density and dynamic bond exchange influence the flow and deformation behavior under both linear and nonlinear deformations, which are particularly relevant for processing operations. In particular, a systematic investigation of the uniaxial extensional response of vitrimer systems is presented, detailing how the presence of dynamic crosslinkers affects strain hardening behavior. We also provide preliminary data on biaxial extension. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the fundamental rheological behavior of polystyrene-based vitrimers and their potential for use in advanced material design.