Visualization of Force and Damage Generated in Polymeric Materials by Functional Dyes

Abstract

  Polymeric materials are widely used because of the lightness and flexibility, which other materials do not have. Recently, the strength has been also improved, resulting in the use as structural materials in transportation machines. The use and demand will continue to increase toward the realization of a sustainable society. However, the failure, fatigue, and deterioration mechanisms are poorly understood because polymer has a history of only 100 years since the concept was proposed. Monitoring and elucidation of the mechanisms are pressing issues to improve the durability, safety, and reliability. Therefore, visualization of force and damage generated in polymeric materials has been studied around the world. In this review, we overview previous research on the visualization using functional dyes, which change the color and/or luminescence properties in response to force. This approach enables to visualize the force and damage at the molecular level without sacrificing the material properties, promising detailed evaluation and understanding of the mechanisms.