Self-healing Supramolecular Polymer Composites by Hydrogen Bonding Interactions between Hyperbranched Polymer and Graphene Oxide

A self-healing supramolecular polymer composite (HSP-GO) was designed and prepared via incorporation of modified graphene oxide to hyperbranched polymer by hydrogen-bonding interactions. The polymer matrix based on amino-terminated hyperbranched polymer (HSP-NH2) was synthesized by carboxylation, Curtius rearrangement, and amination of hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched polyester (HP-OH), while the modified graphene oxide was prepared by transformation of hydroxyl to isocyanate and further to carbamate ester. Spectroscopic methods were utilized to characterize the obtained polymer composites. Stress-strain test was selected to carefully study the self-healing property of HSP-GO. It is found that a small amount of modified graphene oxide (up to 2 wt%) improves the glass transition temperature (T (g)), tensile strength, Young's modulus, and self-healing efficiency of the polymer composites. After healed at room temperature for 10 min, the addition of modified graphene oxide improves the self-healing efficiency to 37% of its original tensile strength. The experiment result shows that the self-healing efficiency is related to the density of hydrogen bonding site and the molecular movement.