Optical Force Probes for Spatially Resolved Imaging of Polymer Damage and Failure

ABSTRACT Polymer deformation spans 7–10 orders of magnitude in length scales, making its analysis a significant challenge. Optical force probes (OFPs), functional molecular motifs in polymer mechanochemistry, enable the study of mechanical properties by undergoing force‐activated optical changes, su...

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Main Authors: Berçin V. Asya, Sitao Wang, Eric Euchler, Vu Ngoc Khiêm, Robert Göstl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-04-01
Series:Aggregate
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70014
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author Berçin V. Asya
Sitao Wang
Eric Euchler
Vu Ngoc Khiêm
Robert Göstl
author_facet Berçin V. Asya
Sitao Wang
Eric Euchler
Vu Ngoc Khiêm
Robert Göstl
author_sort Berçin V. Asya
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Polymer deformation spans 7–10 orders of magnitude in length scales, making its analysis a significant challenge. Optical force probes (OFPs), functional molecular motifs in polymer mechanochemistry, enable the study of mechanical properties by undergoing force‐activated optical changes, such as absorption, fluorescence, or chemiluminescence. This review highlights OFPs integrated within polymer materials, focusing on their mechanical properties, optical methods for force elucidation, and the insights they provide. Special attention is given to high‐resolution microscopy combined with OFPs, enabling qualitative and quantitative imaging of material damage and failure at unprecedented spatial resolution. While binary OFPs respond at critical strain thresholds, ideal for detecting permanent damage and stress hotspots, continuum OFPs track strain proportionally through reversible optical mechanisms, providing dynamic, real‐time strain mapping. Together, these systems advance material diagnostics, offering complementary capabilities to study stress distribution, improve durability predictions, and understand polymer failure mechanisms.
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spelling doaj-art-eb4b447fdca3491b8d3f3cf2fed18b2d2025-08-20T02:11:51ZengWileyAggregate2692-45602025-04-0164n/an/a10.1002/agt2.70014Optical Force Probes for Spatially Resolved Imaging of Polymer Damage and FailureBerçin V. Asya0Sitao Wang1Eric Euchler2Vu Ngoc Khiêm3Robert Göstl4Department of Chemistry and Biology University of Wuppertal Wuppertal GermanyLeibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden Dresden GermanyLeibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden Dresden GermanyDepartment of Continuum Mechanics RWTH Aachen University Aachen GermanyDepartment of Chemistry and Biology University of Wuppertal Wuppertal GermanyABSTRACT Polymer deformation spans 7–10 orders of magnitude in length scales, making its analysis a significant challenge. Optical force probes (OFPs), functional molecular motifs in polymer mechanochemistry, enable the study of mechanical properties by undergoing force‐activated optical changes, such as absorption, fluorescence, or chemiluminescence. This review highlights OFPs integrated within polymer materials, focusing on their mechanical properties, optical methods for force elucidation, and the insights they provide. Special attention is given to high‐resolution microscopy combined with OFPs, enabling qualitative and quantitative imaging of material damage and failure at unprecedented spatial resolution. While binary OFPs respond at critical strain thresholds, ideal for detecting permanent damage and stress hotspots, continuum OFPs track strain proportionally through reversible optical mechanisms, providing dynamic, real‐time strain mapping. Together, these systems advance material diagnostics, offering complementary capabilities to study stress distribution, improve durability predictions, and understand polymer failure mechanisms.https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70014damagefailureoptical force probespolymer mechanochemistry
spellingShingle Berçin V. Asya
Sitao Wang
Eric Euchler
Vu Ngoc Khiêm
Robert Göstl
Optical Force Probes for Spatially Resolved Imaging of Polymer Damage and Failure
Aggregate
damage
failure
optical force probes
polymer mechanochemistry
title Optical Force Probes for Spatially Resolved Imaging of Polymer Damage and Failure
title_full Optical Force Probes for Spatially Resolved Imaging of Polymer Damage and Failure
title_fullStr Optical Force Probes for Spatially Resolved Imaging of Polymer Damage and Failure
title_full_unstemmed Optical Force Probes for Spatially Resolved Imaging of Polymer Damage and Failure
title_short Optical Force Probes for Spatially Resolved Imaging of Polymer Damage and Failure
title_sort optical force probes for spatially resolved imaging of polymer damage and failure
topic damage
failure
optical force probes
polymer mechanochemistry
url https://doi.org/10.1002/agt2.70014
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AT vungockhiem opticalforceprobesforspatiallyresolvedimagingofpolymerdamageandfailure
AT robertgostl opticalforceprobesforspatiallyresolvedimagingofpolymerdamageandfailure