Transparent, Healable Elastomers with High Mechanical Strength and Elasticity Derived from Hydrogen-Bonded Polymer...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Developing elastomers with simultaneous high mechanical strength and elasticity is challenging.
• Existing materials often compromise one property for another.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create high-performance elastomers with integrated high mechanical strength, stretchability, resilience, and healability.
• To explore a simple strategy for fabricating these advanced materials.

Main Methods:

• Complexing poly(acrylic acid) and poly(ethylene oxide) via hydrogen-bonding interactions.
• Characterizing the mechanical properties (strength, stretchability, toughness) and healing capabilities of the resulting composite elastomers.
• Developing flexible conductors by incorporating silver nanowires.

Main Results:

• Transparent composite elastomers were successfully generated.
• Achieved high mechanical strength (61 MPa) and toughness (22.9 kJ/m²).
• Demonstrated enormous stretchability (>35 times initial length) and good resilience.
• Exhibited self-healing from physical damage in humid environments due to reversible hydrogen bonds.
• Developed flexible conductors with water-enabled healability.

Conclusions:

• The developed elastomers offer a unique combination of mechanical robustness and self-healing properties.
• Hydrogen-bonding interactions are key to achieving high performance and healability.
• The materials show potential for applications requiring durable and repairable flexible electronics.