An Underwater Self-Healing Polysulfide Elastomer with In-Situ Curing and Adhesion

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Ocean Engineering

Background:

• Expanding oceanic activities necessitate advanced materials for underwater applications.
• Existing self-healing materials lack stability in aquatic environments due to water-sensitive bonds.
• Underwater self-healing materials are crucial for sustainability and minimizing resource waste.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel polysulfide elastomers with underwater self-healing and metal adhesion properties.
• To overcome the limitations of water-sensitive cross-linking bonds in current self-healing materials.
• To create materials suitable for in-situ repair and sealing in marine environments.

Main Methods:

• A straightforward, one-step thiol-ene click reaction strategy was employed.
• The reaction's water insensitivity allows for in-situ underwater curing.
• Polysulfide elastomers were synthesized and characterized for their properties.

Main Results:

• The optimal elastomer (LPTM-55) exhibited high toughness (1.49 MJ/m³).
• Achieved 90% underwater self-healing efficiency within 7 hours.
• Demonstrated significant underwater metal adhesion strength up to 1.2 MPa.

Conclusions:

• Developed polysulfide elastomers possess robust underwater self-healing and metal adhesion.
• The material's properties stem from disulfide bonds enabling coordination with metals.
• These elastomers show great potential for underwater sealing and repair applications.