Self-healing polyurethane containing carboxyl groups
Self-healing polymer is a kind of intelligent material with the capability to repair damage automatically. In a paper, a type of polyurethane containing carboxyl groups is reported that demonstrates thermally assisted healing effects.
This polymer can be healed even 72 h after cutting and also has a repeatable healing property.
Hydrogen bonding interactions
The self-healing efficiency can reach 90% when comparing the tensile strength of the healed sample to the original sample. Carboxyl content plays an important role in the self-healing property – polyurethane with no carboxyl groups cannot be healed. The mechanism of self-healing showed that hydrogen bonding interactions between carboxyl groups and diffusion of poly(ethylene glycol) chains contribute to the self-healing behaviour.
The study is published in: Applied Polymer Science, Volume 135, Issue 9, March 5, 2018
