Preparation of Poly(thiol-urethane) Covalent Adaptable Networks Based on Multiple-Types Dynamic Motifs

To solve the issue of polymeric materials recycling, developing intrinsic self-healing materials containing dynamic bonds has attracted many researchers' highly concerning. However, the tradeoff between their mechanical strength and stretchability always does not avoid. Herein, to surmount the above tradeoff, metal-ligand (Cu2+-S) interactions are introduced into the cross-linking polythiourethane covalent adaptable networks (PTU CANs) with three kinds of dynamic motifs (thiourethane, disulfide, and hydrogen bonds). When the molar ratio of Cu2+ to S is 6.37%, the break strength (9.41 +/- 0.34 MPa) and Young's modulus (26.02 +/- 0.55 MPa) of the metal-ligand coordination complex PTU (Cu2+-PTU-3) dramatically increase, whereas the peak strain almost does not decline (454.44 +/- 3.95%). To conduct the repairing, Cu2+-PTU-3 is further confirmed excellent repairing capability. Therefore, these new PTU CANs have significant potential for the new self-healing materials.

Automated summary

By introducing metal-ligand interactions, the break strength and Young's modulus of self-healing materials have been significantly increased while maintaining high stretchability. These new materials exhibit excellent repairing capability, showing significant potential for future applications.