Superstretchable Dynamic Polymer Networks

Superstretchable materials have many applications in advanced technological fields but are difficult to stretch to more than 1000x their original length. A superstretchable dynamic polymer network that can be stretched to 13 000x its original length is designed. It is revealed that superstretchability of the polymer network is derived from the synergistic effect of two different types of dynamic bonds, including a small number of strong dynamic imine bonds to maintain the network integrity during stretching and a large number of weak ionic hydrogen bonds to dissipate energy. This approach provides new insights into the design of superstretchable polymers.