General Entropy Approach Towards Ultratough Sustainable Plastics

Abstract

AbstractEntropy is a universal concept across the physics of mixtures. While the role of entropy in other multicomponent materials has been appreciated, its effects in polymers and plastics has not. In this work, we demonstrate that the seemingly small mixing entropy contributes to the miscibility and performance of polymer alloys. Experimental and modelling studies on over 30 polymer pairs reveal strong correlation between entropy, morphology and mechanical properties, while elucidating the mechanism behind: in polymer blends with weak interactions, entropy leads to homogeneously dispersed nanosized domains stabilized by highly entangled chains. This unique microstructure promotes uniform plastic deformation at the interface, thus improving toughness of conventional brittle polymers by 1–2 orders of magnitude without sacrificing other properties, analogous to high‐entropy metallic alloys. The proposed strategy also applies to ternary polymer systems and copolymers, offering a new pathway towards development of sustainable polymers.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved