Nonlinear rheology and nanostructural features of twin-chain polymer networks with controlled porosity

TCNs pores size increases with the porogen molecular weight. Despite a clear difference in the gels porosity at the micron-scale, only minor structural differences emerged through SAXS, DSC and linear rheology analysis. Gels deformation in the non-linear regime, analyzed through the Sequence of Physical Processes (SPP) approach, unraveled, for the first time, the hidden nanoscale features determining gels behavior at yielding, clarifying the role of the different porogens during cryostructuration. The nature of gels' physical junctions was found to be intertwined with the gels' tortuosity at the nanoscale, eventually affecting the cleaning ability of this new class of materials.