High performance polymer network gels consisting of tetra-arm
poly(ethyleneglycol) (Tetra-PEG) gels were fabricated via a module
assembling method and their mechanical properties and structure were
investigated by stretching and compression measurements, dynamic mechanical
measurements, and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). It was found that
Tetra-PEG gels are nearly-ideal polymer network with negligible fractions of
defects and entanglements. SANS intensity functions indicated that the
network structure was uniform free from spatial inhomogeneities. It is
deduced that this uniform structure is ascribed to its unique preparation
method, i.e., module assembling method (cross-end-coupling of
tetra-functional macromers with complementary functional groups).
Characteristic properties originated from the near-ideality as polymer
networks are demonstrated, including its application to ion gels, i.e.,
polymer network in ionic liquid.