Elastomer with tunable properties and method of rapidly forming the elastomer

An elastomer having tunable properties, the elastomer comprising polybutadiene or a copolymer and being formed by:

• preparing a monomer solution comprising one or more monomers including 1,5-cyclooctadiene (COD);
• activating a region of the monomer solution to initiate an exothermic polymerization reaction and generate a self-propagating polymerization front,
• wherein the self-propagating polymerization front moves through the monomer solution and polymerizes the one or more monomers, thereby rapidly forming the elastomer,
• wherein the elastomer comprises a gradient in composition, a gradient in glass transition temperature, and/or a gradient in mechanical properties.

An elastomer having tunable properties, the elastomer comprising polybutadiene or a copolymer and being formed by:

• preparing a monomer solution comprising one or more monomers including 1,5-cyclooctadiene (COD);
• activating a region of the monomer solution to initiate an exothermic polymerization reaction and generate a self-propagating polymerization front,
• wherein the self-propagating polymerization front moves through the monomer solution and polymerizes the one or more monomers, thereby rapidly forming the elastomer,
• wherein the elastomer is a shape memory polymer.