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Controlling Thermoplastic Elastomer Optical Properties by Mechanical Processing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2019

Margaret Campbell ,
Paramjot Singh ,
Kunal Kate  and
Cindy K. Harnett
Margaret Campbell
Affiliation:
University of Kentucky College of Engineering, 351 Administration Dr, Lexington, KY40506, U.S.A.
Paramjot Singh
Affiliation:
University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering, 2210 S Brook St, Louisville, KY40208, U.S.A.
Kunal Kate
Affiliation:
University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering, 2210 S Brook St, Louisville, KY40208, U.S.A.
Cindy K. Harnett*
Affiliation:
University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering, 2210 S Brook St, Louisville, KY40208, U.S.A.
*
*(Email: c0harn01@louisville.edu)
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Abstract

We demonstrate that the extrusion speed of thermoplastic urethane elastomer can modify its optical transmission by a factor of more than 100. Varying extrusion speed at constant temperature may tune optical properties along the axis of a filament, for example creating absorbent regions that are sensitive to length and diameter changes, surrounded by more transmissive segments that carry the sensor signal over long distances. Such waveguiding in a stretchable optical fiber requires a stretchable cladding with lower refractive index than the core. In experiments toward a rugged, stretchable fiber cladding, we investigated whether solvents could modify the outer structure of the filaments. Soaking the filaments in NMP (n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone), then stretching the filaments while the solvent dried, turned out to modify the filaments in a way that solvents alone did not, creating porosity and reducing the appearance of optical clarity.

Keywords

extrusionoptical propertiespolymer
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Advances , Volume 4 , Issue 23: Biomaterials and Soft Materials , 2019 , pp. 1341 - 1347
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2019 

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References

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