Processing-Driven Structuring of Polymer-Based Materials: A Brief Overview

Polymer structuring is a valuable cost- and time-saving strategy for the production of high performance polymer-based materials. The main issue in the spreading of this approach lies in the understanding of the relationships between the processing parameters, the microstructure and the resulting properties, which represent fundamental factors in the actual defining of the final characteristics owing to the production method employed. The aim of the present work is to provide a wide overview of the currently available knowledge on solvent-free approaches for obtaining structured materials, specifically focusing on extrusion- and injection molding-based technologies, given their relevance as the most industrially exploited methods for the melt processing of thermoplastic materials. Additionally, particular attention will be paid to the relationships between the variation in the processing parameters and the resulting flow fields (both shear and elongational), considering their role in the definition of microstructure.