Hypotheses for Scratch Behavior of Polymer Systems that Recover

• Main Author: Bujard, Bernard
• Other Authors: Gnade, Bruce
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of North Texas 2002
• Subjects: Polymers.; Coatings.; Fluoropolymers; scratch resistance; scratch recovery
• Online Access: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3153/

Scratch recovery is a desirable property of many polymer systems. The reason why some materials have demonstrated excellent scratch recovery while others do not has been a mystery. Explaining the scratch resistance based upon the hardness of a material or its crosslink density is incorrect. In this thesis, novel polymers were tested in an attempt to discover materials that show excellent scratch recovery - one of the most important parameters in determining the wear of a material. Several hypotheses were developed in an attempt to give an accurate picture of how the chemical structure of a polymer affects its scratch recovery. The results show that high scratch recovery is a complex phenomenon not solely dependent upon the presence of electronegative atoms such as fluorine.