Optically healable supramolecular polymers
Mark Burnworth,Li-Ming Tang,Justin R. Kumpfer,Andrew J. Duncan,Frederick L. Beyer,Gina L. Fiore,Stuart J. Rowan,Christoph Weder,Christoph Weder +8 more
TLDR
This work presents metallosupramolecular polymers that can be mended through exposure to light, which consist of telechelic, rubbery, low-molecular-mass polymers with ligand end groups that are non-covalently linked through metal-ion binding.Abstract:
Smart materials with an in-built ability to repair damage caused by normal wear and tear could prove useful in a wide range of applications. Most healable polymer-based materials so far developed require heating of the damaged area. But Burnworth et al. have now produced materials — in the form of polymer strands linked through metal complexes — that can be mended through exposure to light. The metal complexes in these materials can absorb ultraviolet light that is then converted into heat, which temporarily unlinks the polymer strands for quick and efficient defect healing. In principle, healing can take place in situ and while under load. Polymers with the ability to repair themselves after sustaining damage could extend the lifetimes of materials used in many applications1. Most approaches to healable materials require heating the damaged area2,3,4. Here we present metallosupramolecular polymers that can be mended through exposure to light. They consist of telechelic, rubbery, low-molecular-mass polymers with ligand end groups that are non-covalently linked through metal-ion binding. On exposure to ultraviolet light, the metal–ligand motifs are electronically excited and the absorbed energy is converted into heat. This causes temporary disengagement of the metal–ligand motifs and a concomitant reversible decrease in the polymers’ molecular mass and viscosity5, thereby allowing quick and efficient defect healing. Light can be applied locally to a damage site, so objects can in principle be healed under load. We anticipate that this approach to healable materials, based on supramolecular polymers and a light–heat conversion step, can be applied to a wide range of supramolecular materials that use different chemistries.read more
Citations
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Functional Supramolecular Polymers
TL;DR: The specific features of supramolecular polymers that can lead to applications in a variety of fields are reviewed, including: materials—in which processability and self-healing properties are of interest; biomedicine— in which the concerns are dynamic functionality and biodegradability; and hierarchical assembly and electronic systems—with an interest in unidirectionality of charge flow.
Journal ArticleDOI
Stimuli-responsive supramolecular polymeric materials.
TL;DR: This critical review of recent developments in supramolecular polymeric materials is addressed, which can respond to appropriate external stimuli at the fundamental level due to the existence of noncovalent interactions of the building blocks.
Journal ArticleDOI
An electrically and mechanically self-healing composite with pressure- and flexion-sensitive properties for electronic skin applications
TL;DR: This work describes a composite material composed of a supramolecular organic polymer with embedded nickel nanostructured microparticles, which shows mechanical and electrical self-healing properties at ambient conditions and shows that the material is pressure- and flexion-sensitive, and therefore suitable for electronic skin applications.
Journal ArticleDOI
Redox-responsive self-healing materials formed from host–guest polymers
TL;DR: The formation of supramolecular hydrogels and their redox-responsive and self-healing properties due to host–guest interactions are reported and cyclodextrin is employed as a host molecule because it is environmentally benign and has diverse applications.
Journal ArticleDOI
Self-healing polymeric materials
Ying Yang,Marek W. Urban +1 more
TL;DR: This review outlines the recent advances in the field of self-healing polymers, and the primary classes are the covalent bonding, supramolecular assemblies, ionic interactions, chemo-mechanical self- healing, and shape memory polymers.
References
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Self-healing and thermoreversible rubber from supramolecular assembly
TL;DR: The design and synthesis of molecules that associate together to form both chains and cross-links via hydrogen bonds and the system shows recoverable extensibility up to several hundred per cent and little creep under load are designed and synthesized.
Journal ArticleDOI
A Thermally Re-mendable Cross-Linked Polymeric Material
Xiangxu Chen,Matheus Adrianus Dam,Kanji Ono,Ajit Mal,Hongbin Shen,Steven Nutt,Kevin Sheran,Fred Wudl +7 more
TL;DR: A transparent organic polymeric material that can repeatedly mend or “re-mend” itself under mild conditions and is a tough solid at room temperature and below with mechanical properties equaling those of commercial epoxy resins.
Journal ArticleDOI
Using the dynamic bond to access macroscopically responsive structurally dynamic polymers
TL;DR: The emergence of a new trend in the design of adaptive materials that involves the use of reversible chemistry to programme a response that originates at the most fundamental (molecular) level is described.
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Irena: tool suite for modeling and analysis of small-angle scattering
Jan Ilavsky,Pete R. Jemian +1 more
TL;DR: Irena as mentioned in this paper is a tool suite for analysis of both X-ray and neutron small-angle scattering (SAS) data within the commercial Igor Pro application, bringing together a comprehensive suite of tools useful for investigations in materials science, physics, chemistry, polymer science and other fields.
Journal ArticleDOI
Self-Healing Polymers and Composites
Benjamin J. Blaiszik,Sharlotte L. B. Kramer,Solar C. Olugebefola,Jeffrey S. Moore,Nancy R. Sottos,Scott R. White +5 more
TL;DR: Self-healing polymers and fiber-reinforced polymer composites possess the ability to heal in response to damage whenever and whenever it occurs in the material as mentioned in this paper, which is a remarkable property.