Hydrogen-bonded polymeric materials with high mechanical properties and high self-healing capacity

Abstract

Microcracks appear in polymer materials during long-term service, which can further propagate into large cracks and lead to failure of materials. In addition, the management of polymer waste pollution is also a major problem in the current society. Fortunately, polymer materials with self-healing ability can be prepared by mimicking the self-repair mechanism of living organisms, thus effectively prolonging the service life. The introduction of reversible interactions not only endows materials with self-healing ability but also facilitates material recycling. This review primarily discusses the strategies and methods for synergistically improving the mechanical performance and self-healing ability of polymer materials based on hydrogen bonds, including introducing multiple hydrogen bonds, increasing hydrogen bond density, controlling the phase separation degree, enhancing molecular chain mobility, achieving the synergistic effects of hydrogen bonds with other reversible bonds, and synthesizing polymer chains with special topological structures. In addition, we also discuss the self-healing mechanisms based on both experimental and simulation results.