Intrinsic Repeated Self-Healing Textiles: Developing Electrospun Fabrics for Enhanced Durability and Stretchability

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Healable polymers offer sustainable solutions by reducing waste and extending product lifespan.
• Current healable polymer fabrics face limitations in healing cycles and mechanical strength.
• There is a need for advanced materials with enhanced self-healing properties for textile applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop intrinsically healable materials for creating stretchable, durable fabrics.
• To investigate the self-healing capabilities of polyurethane (TPU) and poly(thiourea triethylene glycol) (PTUEG3) blends.
• To optimize the mechanical properties and healing efficiency of these novel fabrics.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of TPU/PTUEG3 blend fabrics using electrospinning.
• Evaluation of room-temperature and heat-enhanced self-healing properties.
• Mechanical testing (tensile tests) and thermal analysis (differential scanning calorimetry - DSC).

Main Results:

• The TPU/PTUEG3 fabrics demonstrated effective self-healing at room temperature, repeatable over multiple cycles.
• Dynamic hydrogen bonding interactions were identified as the mechanism driving the self-healing process.
• Tensile tests and DSC analysis confirmed that mechanical properties and healing efficiency can be tuned by adjusting the TPU/PTUEG3 weight ratio.

Conclusions:

• This study presents a practical method for creating intrinsically healable fabrics with excellent durability and flexibility.
• The developed materials offer a sustainable approach to extend textile lifespan and minimize environmental impact.
• Optimized TPU/PTUEG3 blends show significant promise for advanced, self-repairing textile applications.