Structural relaxation of confined glassy polymers

Abstract

Glasses are non-equilibrium, amorphous materials. They undergo glassy-state structural relaxation towards thermodynamic equilibrium. Consequently, glasses exhibit time-dependent engineering properties in a process termed physical aging. Understanding structural relaxation is important for predicting long-term material properties and useful lifetimes. Here, we highlight the influence of nanoscale confinement and interfaces on the structural relaxation of polymers. Whenever possible, we also discuss correlations or lack thereof between the well-documented influence of confinement on the glass transition temperature (Tg). How confinement might be used to engineer different aging responses in polymer glasses is also mentioned. Finally, we conclude with perspectives and future work.