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Title: Well-Tunable, 3D-printable, and Fast Autonomous Self-Healing Elastomers

Journal Article · · Supramolecular Materials
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [4];  [5]; ORCiD logo [3]
  1. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  3. Beijing University of Chemical Technology (China)
  4. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  5. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

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.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE); Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; 52373275; DMR-1904657
OSTI ID:
2283852
Journal Information:
Supramolecular Materials, Vol. 2, Issue 1; ISSN 2667-2405
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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