Esteban Araya-Hermosilla1, Alice Giannetti2, Guilherme Macedo R Lima3, Felipe Orozco3, Francesco Picchioni3, Virgilio Mattoli1, Ranjita K Bose3, Andrea Pucci2,4. 1. Center for Micro-BioRobotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera, 56025 Pisa, Italy. 2. Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy. 3. Department of Chemical Product Engineering, Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747AG Groningen, The Netherlands. 4. Centro per l'Integrazione della Strumentazione dell'Università di Pisa (CISUP), Lungarno Pacinotti 43, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
Abstract
Among smart materials, self-healing is one of the most studied properties. A self-healing polymer can repair the cracks that occurred in the structure of the material. Polyketones, which are high-performance thermoplastic polymers, are a suitable material for a self-healing mechanism: a furanic pendant moiety can be introduced into the backbone and used as a diene for a temperature reversible Diels-Alder reaction with bismaleimide. The Diels-Alder adduct is formed at around 50 °C and broken at about 120 °C, giving an intrinsic, stimuli-responsive self-healing material triggered by temperature variations. Also, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is added to the polymer matrix (1.6-7 wt%), giving a reversible OFF-ON electrically conductive polymer network. Remarkably, the electrical conductivity is activated when reaching temperatures higher than 100 °C, thus suggesting applications as electronic switches based on self-healing soft devices.
Among smart materials, self-healing is one of the most studied properties. A self-healing polymer can repair the cracks that occurred in the structure of the material. n class="Chemical">Polyketones, which are high-performance thermoplastic polymers, are a suitable material for a self-healing mechanism: a furanic pendant moiety can be introduced into the backbone and used as a diene for a temperature reversible Diels-Alder reaction with bismaleimide. The Diels-Alder adduct is formed at around 50 °C and broken at about 120 °C, giving an intrinsic, stimuli-responsive self-healing material triggered by temperature variations. Also, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is added to the polymer matrix (1.6-7 wt%), giving a reversible OFF-ON electrically conductive polymer network. Remarkably, the electrical conductivity is activated when reaching temperatures higher than 100 °C, thus suggesting applications as electronic switches based on self-healing soft devices.