Multiphase-Assembly of Siloxane Oligomers with Improved Mechanical Strength and Water-Enhanced Healing.

Healable silicone materials have great technical impact in coatings, smart actuators, and flexible electronics, however, current healable silicone materials lack mechanical tunability. Herein, we designed and synthesized a new type of healable silicone through hydrogen-bond assisted multiphase assembly of siloxane oligomers. Besides the enhanced mechanical strength, unique water-enhanced healing was observed in the polymer network which is due to the reversible dissociation/association of multivalent hydrogen bonds in the presence of water.