Mobility gradients yield rubbery surfaces on top of polymer glasses

Nature, Published online: 18 August 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03733-7

Surface enhancements in glass mobility are complicated in polymers by the interplay of the surface mobile layer thickness with a second length scale (the size of the polymer chains), giving rise to a transient rubbery surface even in polymers with short chains.