Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 323, Issue 5920, Pages 1458-1460Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1167391
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation MRSEC [DMR 0213883]
- Materials Research Instrumentation (MRI) program [DMR 0215873]
- Mississippi Division of Marine Resources
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Polyurethanes have many properties that qualify them as high-performance polymeric materials, but they still suffer from mechanical damage. We report the development of polyurethane networks that exhibit self-repairing characteristics upon exposure to ultraviolet light. The network consists of an oxetane-substituted chitosan precursor incorporated into a two-component polyurethane. Upon mechanical damage of the network, four-member oxetane rings open to create two reactive ends. When exposed to ultraviolet light, chitosan chain scission occurs, which forms crosslinks with the reactive oxetane ends, thus repairing the network. These materials are capable of repairing themselves in less than an hour and can be used in many coatings applications, ranging from transportation to packaging or fashion and biomedical industries.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available