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Indentation of polydimethylsiloxane submerged in organic solvents

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Abstract

This work uses a method based on indentation to characterize a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer submerged in an organic solvent (decane, heptane, pentane, or cyclohexane). An indenter is pressed into a disk of a swollen elastomer to a fixed depth, and the force on the indenter is recorded as a function of time. By examining how the relaxation time scales with the radius of contact, one can differentiate the poroelastic behavior from the viscoelastic behavior. By matching the relaxation curve measured experimentally to that derived from the theory of poroelasticity, one can identify elastic constants and permeability. The measured elastic constants are interpreted within the Flory–Huggins theory. The measured permeability indicates that the solvent migrates in PDMS by diffusion, rather than by convection. This work confirms that indentation is a reliable and convenient method to characterize swollen elastomers.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (CMMI-0800161), Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) (W911NF-09-1-0476), and Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Harvard University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Kavli Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    Yuhang Hu

  2. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Kavli Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    Xin Chen & George M. Whitesides

  3. School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Kavli Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    Joost J. Vlassak & Zhigang Suo

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  1. Yuhang Hu
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  2. Xin Chen
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  5. Zhigang Suo
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Correspondence to Zhigang Suo.

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Hu, Y., Chen, X., Whitesides, G.M. et al. Indentation of polydimethylsiloxane submerged in organic solvents. Journal of Materials Research 26, 785–795 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2010.35

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