Comment on “Mechanisms of the multi-shape memory effect and temperature memory effect in shape memory polymers” by L. Sun and W. M. Huang, Soft Matter, 2010, 6, 4403

Abstract

Li Sun et al. showed that the temperature corresponding to the maximum recovery stress in constrained recovery was roughly the temperature at which pre-deformation, also known as the temperature memory effect (TME), occurred in shape memory polymers (SMPs). A theoretical framework was presented to investigate the underlying mechanisms for the TME. Here, we show that the scope of this report remains limited to the theoretical framework. In this comment, a phenomenological model is proposed to quantitatively separate the effect of stored mechanical energy on the TME in SMPs, in combination with the relaxation theory and the experimental work of Pierre Miaudet et al.