Self-Healable, Malleable, Ecofriendly Recyclable and Robust Polyimine Thermosets Derived from Trifluoromethyl Diphenoxybenzene Backbones

Dynamic covalent chemistry opens up great opportunities for a sustainable society by producing reprocessable networks of polymers and even thermosets. However, achieving the closed-loop recycling of polymers with high performance remains a grand challenge. The introduction of aromatic monomers and fluorine into covalent adaptable networks is an attractive method to tackle this challenge. Therefore, we present a facile and universal strategy to focus on the design and applications of polyimine vitrimers containing trifluoromethyl diphenoxybenzene backbones in applications of dynamic covalent polymers. In this study, fluorine-containing polyimine vitrimer networks (FPIVs) were fabricated, and the results revealed that the FPIVs not only exhibited good self-healability, malleability and processability without the aid of any catalyst, but also possessed decent mechanical strength, superior toughness and thermal stability. We hope that this work could provide a novel pathway for the design of high-performance polyimine vitrimers by recycling of plastic wastes.

Automated summary

Dynamic covalent chemistry offers great potential for producing recyclable polymers and thermosets, but achieving high-performance closed-loop recycling remains challenging. Introducing aromatic monomers and fluorine into covalent adaptable networks is an attractive method to address this challenge. In this study, the design and applications of polyimine vitrimers containing trifluoromethyl diphenoxybenzene backbones were focused on. The resulting fluorine-containing polyimine vitrimer networks showed good self-healability, malleability, and processability without the need for any catalyst, as well as decent mechanical strength, superior toughness, and thermal stability.