Ultrafast Self‐Healing Elastomer with Closed‐Loop Recyclability

Ultrafast Self‐Healing Elastomer with Closed‐Loop Recyclability

Chemistry – An Asian Journal

10.1002/asia.202400143

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asia.202400143

Justin Jian Qiang Mah, Ke Li, Hongzhi Feng, Nayli Erdeanna Binte Surat'man, Bofan Li, Xiaohui Yu, Mingsheng Zhang, Sheng Wang, Zibiao Li

06 May 2024

Mah, J. J. Q., Li, K., Feng, H., Surat’man, N. E. B., Li, B., Yu, X., Zhang, M., Wang, S., & Li, Z. (2024). Ultrafast Self‐Healing Elastomer with Closed‐Loop Recyclability. Chemistry – An Asian Journal. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/asia.202400143

AbstractThe loss of function after prolonged periods of use is inevitable for all materials including plastics. Hence, self‐healing capabilities are a key development to prolong the service lifetime of materials. One of such self‐healing capabilities can be achieved by integrating dynamic bonds such as boronic ester linkages into polymeric materials, however the rate of self‐healing in these materials is insufficient and current methods to accelerate it are limited. In this study, we report the rational design, synthesis and characterization of a fluorinated elastomer (FBE15) that utilizes enhanced interaction between polymer chains afforded by strong dipole‐dipole interactions from −CF3, which showed a significant increase in binding energy to −7.71 Kcal/mol from −5.51 Kcal/mol, resulting in increased interaction between the boronic ester linkages and improving self‐healing capabilities of boronic ester materials, drastically reducing the time required for stress relaxation by 900 %. The bulk elastomer is capable of ultrafast self‐healing in a one‐click fashion that can happen in mere seconds, which can then be stretched to 150 % of its original length. By utilising the dynamic cross‐linking, FBE15 is also capable of both mechanical reprocessing into the same materials and chemical recycling into its starting materials, respectively, further allowing reconstruction of the elastomers that have comparable properties to the original ones at the end of its service lifespan.

Publisher Copyright

This research / project is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) - RIE2025 Manufacturing, Trade and Connectivity (MTC) Programmatic Funding
Grant Reference no. : M22K9b0049

This research / project is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) - AME Young Individual Research Grants (YIRG)
Grant Reference no. : A2084c0168

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Mah, J. J. Q., Li, K., Feng, H., Surat’man, N. E. B., Li, B., Yu, X., Zhang, M., Wang, S., & Li, Z. (2024). Ultrafast Self‐Healing Elastomer with Closed‐Loop Recyclability. Chemistry – An Asian Journal. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/asia.202400143, which has been published in final form at doi.org/10.1002/asia.202400143. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited."

https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/19872

1861-471X
1861-4728

Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment