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Updated: Oct 19, 2025
Preparation of Monodomain Liquid Crystal Elastomers and Liquid Crystal Elastomer Nanocomposites
Published on: February 6, 2016
Modified cellulose nanocrystals are used to enhance the performance of self-healing siloxane elastomers
Xu Fan1, Xinxin Yang1, Shibo Wang1
1Institute of Chemical Industry of Forestry Products, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Material, Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Key Lab. of Chemical Engineering of Forest Products, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, National Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Nanjing 210042, Jiangsu Province, China.
Abstract:
Self-healing siloxane elastomers with high ductility can be developed for the manufacture of wearable and flexible electronic devices. However, the poor mechanical properties of self-healing siloxane elastomers limit their industrial applications. Herein, the mechanical and self-healing properties of siloxane elastomers were improved using 3-isocyanatepropyltrimethoxysilane modified (ICNCs) as a crosslinking agent and nanofiller. ICNCs increased the tensile strength and shear strength of siloxane elastomers by 54% and 68.6%, respectively. Significantly, ICNCs decreased the relaxation time for siloxane elastomers and reduced the activation energy for reversible siloxane equilibration from 68 kJ/mol to 38 kJ/mol. Therefore, ICNCs improve the self-healing and welding efficiency of siloxane elastomers. Furthermore, the self-healing siloxane elastomer maintained excellent mechanical properties and thermal properties after three cycles of recycling. Our research reveals that such a material can be applied to the field of recyclable self-healing products and surface adhesives.
