Premium
A High Strength but Fast Fracture‐Self‐Healing Thermoplastic Elastomer
Author(s) -
Zhang Yu,
Yu Yongjia,
Zhao Xiaojuan,
Yang Xin,
Yu Ran,
Zhang Ying,
Huang Wei
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.202100135
Subject(s) - materials science , elastomer , ultimate tensile strength , composite material , self healing , self healing material , toughness , thermoplastic elastomer , thermoplastic polyurethane , hydrogen bond , thermoplastic , polymer , copolymer , molecule , chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , organic chemistry , pathology
Herein, a new type of healable thermoplastic poly(urethane‐urea) (PUU) elastomer with a unique dual dynamic network structure consisting of multi‐strength hydrogen bonds and aromatic disulfide bonds, is designed and synthesized. The resultant PUU elastomer exhibits high tensile strength (41 MPa), great toughness (104 MJ m −3 ), and excellent self‐healing capability (completely severes, heals at 60 ℃ for just 1 h, and recovers more than 80% of the original tensile strength). Although the PUU possesses high‐density hydrogen bonds, it is completely homogeneous without micro‐phase separation. The unique dual dynamic network structure alleviates the adverse effects of strong molecular interactions on self‐healing process, simultaneously endowing the polymer with outstanding mechanical properties and excellent self‐healing capability at mild temperature. In addition, the underlying mechanism between performance and structure is revealed. The PUU has potential applications in soft robots and wearable electronics.