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Safaei A, Brancart J, Wang Z, Yazdani S, Vanderborght B, Van Assche G, Terryn S. Fast Self-Healing at Room Temperature in Diels-Alder Elastomers. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:3527. [PMID: 37688153 PMCID: PMC10490179 DOI: 10.3390/polym15173527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite being primarily categorized as non-autonomous self-healing polymers, we demonstrate the ability of Diels-Alder polymers to heal macroscopic damages at room temperature, resulting in complete restoration of their mechanical properties within a few hours. Moreover, we observe immediate partial recovery, occurring mere minutes after reuniting the fractured surfaces. This fast room-temperature healing is accomplished by employing an off-stoichiometric maleimide-to-furan ratio in the polymer network. Through an extensive investigation of seven Diels-Alder polymers, the influence of crosslink density on self-healing, thermal, and (thermo-)mechanical performance was thoroughly examined. Crosslink density variations were achieved by adjusting the molecular weight of the monomers or utilizing the off-stoichiometric maleimide-to-furan ratio. Quasistatic tensile testing, dynamic mechanical analysis, dynamic rheometry, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis were employed to evaluate the individual effects of these parameters on material performance. While lowering the crosslink density in the polymer network via decreasing the off-stoichiometric ratio demonstrated the greatest acceleration of healing, it also led to a slight decrease in (dynamic) mechanical performance. On the other hand, reducing crosslink density using longer monomers resulted in faster healing, albeit to a lesser extent, while maintaining the (dynamic) mechanical performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Safaei
- Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science, Department of Materials and Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; (A.S.); (J.B.); (S.Y.); (G.V.A.)
| | - Joost Brancart
- Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science, Department of Materials and Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; (A.S.); (J.B.); (S.Y.); (G.V.A.)
- Brubotics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Imec, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; (Z.W.); (B.V.)
| | - Zhanwei Wang
- Brubotics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Imec, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; (Z.W.); (B.V.)
| | - Sogol Yazdani
- Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science, Department of Materials and Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; (A.S.); (J.B.); (S.Y.); (G.V.A.)
| | - Bram Vanderborght
- Brubotics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Imec, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; (Z.W.); (B.V.)
| | - Guy Van Assche
- Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science, Department of Materials and Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; (A.S.); (J.B.); (S.Y.); (G.V.A.)
| | - Seppe Terryn
- Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science, Department of Materials and Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; (A.S.); (J.B.); (S.Y.); (G.V.A.)
- Brubotics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Imec, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; (Z.W.); (B.V.)
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