Movable Cross-Linked Polymeric Materials from Bulk Polymerization of Reactive Polyrotaxane Cross-Linker with Acrylate Monomers

Topological cross-linked polymers attract much attention from their unique mechanical properties derived from their cross-linking structure. Here, we have fabricated a polymeric material (Acryl-AcO-PRx) incorporating topological cross-links into various universal acrylate polymers by using a modified polyrotaxane as a polymerizable cross-linking agent. Acryl-AcO-PRx obtained by a simple photocuring technique under bulk conditions showed a distinctly higher extensibility compared with the chemical cross-linked polymers. In addition, Acryl-AcO-PRx materials showed high stress relaxation and deformation hysteresis. These results indicate that the topologically cross-linked structure composed of polyrotaxane plays an important role in mechanical properties even in bulk state.