Applications of Discrete and Gradient Compositions in Polymer Research

摘要

A new general approach for rapid performance screening of polymer compositions is provided. Multiple compositions are generated as one-dimensional libraries in a micro-extruder with step or gradient composition changes in < 1 min. To accelerate testing, an environmental stress is applied to only local regions, followed by high-sensitivity spatially resolved characterization. Applying the methodology to weathering of arrays of polymeric compositions provided a 20X faster ranking of polymer/UV absorber compositions that was equivalent to traditional weathering methods.