A thermally re-mendable cross-linked polymeric material.
We have developed a transparent organic polymeric material that can repeatedly mend or "re-mend" itself under mild conditions. The material is a tough solid at room temperature and below with mechanical properties equaling those of commercial epoxy resins. At temperatures above 120 degrees C, approximately 30% (as determined by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) of "intermonomer" linkages disconnect but then reconnect upon cooling, This process is fully reversible and can be used to restore a fractured part of the polymer multiple times, and it does not require additional ingredients such as a catalyst, additional monomer, or special surface treatment of the fractured interface.
Chen
Xiangxu
X
Exotic Materials Institute and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Dam
Matheus A
MA
Ono
Kanji
K
Mal
Ajit
A
Shen
Hongbin
H
Nutt
Steven R
SR
Sheran
Kevin
K
Wudl
Fred
F