New thermally remendable highly cross-linked polymeric materials

Two new remendable highly cross-linked polymers, 2ME4F and 2MEP4F, were prepared without solvent. Solid-state NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) was used to study the thermal reversibility of Diels-Alder (DA) cross-linking, and it was found that DA connections and disconnections of both polymers are thermally reversible. Differential scanning calorimeter and dynamical mechanical analysis were applied to study thermal and mechanical properties of these materials, and it is found that the glass transition temperature (T-g) of 2ME4F is about 30-40 degreesC and that of 2MEP4F is about 80 degreesC. A qualitative study of the healing efficiency of 2MEP4F showed that cracks can be healed effectively with a simple thermal healing procedure. This process can be repeated to heal cracks multiple times.