Zhang Y, Cai C, Li F, Dong S. Supramolecular Soft Material Enabled by Metal Coordination and Hydrogen Bonding: Stretchability, Self-Healing, Impact Resistance, 3D Printing, and Motion Monitoring.
SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023:e2300857. [PMID:
37035948 DOI:
10.1002/smll.202300857]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Metal coordination can significantly improve the macroscopic performance of many materials by enhancing their dynamic features. In this study, two supramolecular interactions, Fe3+ -carboxylic acid coordination, and structural water-induced hydrogen bonding, into an artificial polymer were introduced. Various attractive features, including flexibility and stretchability, are achieved because of the bulk state and dynamic hydrogen bonds of poly(thioctic acid-water) (poly[TA-H]). These unique features are considerably enhanced after the incorporation of Fe3+ cations into poly[TA-H] because metal coordination increased the mobility of the poly[TA-H] chains. Thus, the poly(thioctic acid-water-metal) (poly[TA-HM]) copolymer exhibited better flexibility and stretchability. Moreover, notable underwater/low-temperature self-healing capacity is obtained via the synergistic effect of the metal and hydrogen bonding. Most of the impact energy is quickly absorbed by poly[TA-H] or poly[TA-HM] and effectively and rapidly dissipated via reversible debonding/bonding via the interactions between the metal and hydrogen. Macroscopic plastic deformation or structural failure is not observed during high-speed (50-70 m s-1 ) impact experiments or high-altitude (90 m) falling tests. Furthermore, poly[TA-HM] displayed good thermal molding properties, which enabled its processing via 3D fused deposition modeling printing. Poly[TA-HM] also showed considerable effectiveness for monitoring complicated, dynamic, and irregular biological activities owing to its highly pressure-sensitive nature.
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