Robust, Transparent, Thermally Healable Copolyacrylate Elastomer: The Effect of β-Hydroxyethyl Acrylate on its Properties

The contradiction between mechanical properties, transparency, and healing effects for polyacrylate elastomers is not solved yet. The copolyacrylate elastomers are prepared based on the bulk copolymerization with methyl methacrylate (MMA) and butyl acrylate (BA), incorporating the beta-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) monomer. Compared with PMMA-co-PBA, with the incorporation of HEA, the copolymer elastomer decreases in tensile strength, while increasing in healing efficiency and visible-light transmittance. Therefore, the high transparency and healing efficiency of the copolyacrylate elastomer are achieved under the condition of ensuring robust mechanical properties.