Thermally assisted self-healing polyurethane containing carboxyl groups
Self-healing polymers are a kind of intelligent materials with the capability to repair damage automatically. In a paper, a type of polyurethane containing carboxyl groups that demonstrates thermally assisted healing effects is reported.
This polymer can be healed even 72 h after cutting and also has a repeatable healing property.
Efficiency can reach 90%
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.
Event Tip
On December 6 the European Coatings Seminar Functional Coatings offers the opportunity learn all relevant basics to start working on this fascinating topic.
