Abstract
Self-healing elastomers provide extended longevity of functional materials, due to their unique adaptability and durability. However, a major scientific challenge remains in developing materials with a rapid healing process combined with decent mechanical properties, that can be prepared by a relatively simple synthesis approach. Herein, we report a versatile design approach on self-healing elastomers by incorporating two different hydrogen bonding containing monomers, i.e., 2-[[(butylamino)carbonyl]oxy]ethyl acrylate (BCOE) and 2-ureido-4[1H]pyrimidinone (UPy) functionalized ethyl methacrylate. Poly(BCOE-r-UPy)s are synthesized by reversible addition−fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and controlling the ratio of two monomers enables well-tunable mechanical properties with tensile strength ranging from 0.04 to 6.3 MPa and tensile strain up to 3,000 %. The characteristic dissociation energy is calculated from a temperature dependence of terminal relaxation followed by subtracting the segmental relaxation. The rapid autonomous self-healing is achieved when the molar composition of Poly(BCOE-r-UPy) is tailored to BCOE/UPy = 99/1. The self-healing process is monitored in situ by a helium-ion microscope, and its macroscopic study using tensile tests indicates that Poly(BCOE-r-UPy1) with 1 % molar ratio of UPy recovers 70 % of its original toughness at ambient temperature within 10 mins. 3D printing of Poly(BCOE-r-UPy) affords a self-healable 3D structure, demonstrating the adaptability of Poly(BCOE-r-UPy) for on-demand fabrication. The simplicity of synthesis, well-tunable mechanical properties, unique self-healability, and 3D printing capability of Poly(BCOE-r-UPy)s indicate their potential for a range of applications.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 100042 |
| Journal | Supramolecular Materials |
| Volume | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2023 |
Funding
This study was supported by the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center for Building Energy Efficiency (CERC BEE) under the Building Technologies Office (BTO) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) during the initial preparation and revision of the manuscript. The research was also supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China ( 52373275 ) during the rewriting and revision of the manuscript. The mechanical analysis, manufacturing, and healing kinetic study were supported by the U.S. DOE, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. NSF Polymer program (award DMR-1904657 ) supported the dielectric measurements and data analysis. A portion of this research was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. The authors acknowledge Jackie Zheng and Shengyi Su for their help during the synthesis and testing of the materials. This study was supported by the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center for Building Energy Efficiency (CERC BEE) under the Building Technologies Office (BTO) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) during the initial preparation and revision of the manuscript. The research was also supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (52373275) during the rewriting and revision of the manuscript. The mechanical analysis, manufacturing, and healing kinetic study were supported by the U.S. DOE, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. NSF Polymer program (award DMR-1904657) supported the dielectric measurements and data analysis. A portion of this research was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. The authors acknowledge Jackie Zheng and Shengyi Su for their help during the synthesis and testing of the materials.
Keywords
- 3d printing
- Hydrogen bonding
- Self-healing, Elastomer
- Tunable mechanical properties