Dataset for "Why cutting is easier than tearing elastomers?"

This dataset provides comprehensive experimental data on "Why cutting is easier than tearing elastomers?,Donghao Zhao, Alex Cartier,Tetsuharu Narita, Frederic Lechenault, Costantino Creton, Matteo Ciccotti. (2025)." accepted for publication in Nature Communications. The DOI will be updated once it is assigned. Tearing tough soft solids is harder than cutting them with a sharp blade. We determine the reasons by synthesizing PDMS elastomers labeled with mechanically sensitive fluorophores, and quantify the extent of bond scission resulting from cutting pre-stretched samples. The dataset includes raw and processed measurements of the fluorescent signal collected from the cutting and stretching edge, cutting force, blunting radius and mechanical properties (e.g., stress-strain curves, Young’s modulus), intended to facilitate replication and comparative analysis.