title: Towards electrically conductive, self-healing materials.
abstract: A novel class of organometallic polymers comprising N-heterocyclic carbenes and transition metals was shown to have potential as an electrically conductive, self-healing material. These polymers were found to exhibit conductivities of the order of 10(-3) S cm-1 and showed structurally dynamic characteristics in the solid-state. Thin films of these materials were cast onto silicon wafers, then scored and imaged using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The scored films were subsequently healed via thermal treatment, which enabled the material to flow via a unique depolymerization process, as determined by SEM and surface profilometry. A method for incorporating these features into a device that exhibits electrically driven, self-healing functions is proposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Kyle A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Boydston
authors.forename: Christopher W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Bielawski
mesh_terms: D000269:Adhesives / Q000737:chemistry*; D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000269:Adhesives; D009942:Organometallic Compounds