Healable Materials

Chain-Folding, Healable Materials Containing D-A Interactions. 152... 

In more recent times, the possibilities enabled by utilising the reversible nature [11] of supramolecular interactions has resulted in their introduction into materials chemistry [12, 13]. The driving force for such studies is that the strength of supramolecular interactions can be reversibly altered by application of external stimuli. In the case of materials chemistry, this means that a physical property of the material (for example, its tensile strength) can be changed in real time and in situ. This feature has transformative potential in numerous applications, including those as healable materials [14-24] and shape-memory polymers [25-28]. 

Murphy, E. B. and Wudl, R The world of smart healable materials. Progress in Polymer Science,35(l-2), 223-251 (2010). 

Unlike conventional covalent polymers, the DP of a supramolecular polymer may be altered in situ by application of a suitable stimulus, such as increasing temperature, that changes the of the components (1). Removal of the stimulus restores the original properties of the material. It is this adaptable feature of supramolecular systems that makes them ideally suited for the production of healable materials. The following sections detail how the understanding gained from these fundamental, solution-state studies has been harnessed to produce adaptable materials that show healing characteristics. 

Healable materials based on weak hydrogen-bonding motifs... 

Healable materials with multiple types of weak hydrogen-bonding interactions... 

HEALABLE MATERIALS BASED ON METAL-LIGAND COORDINATION... 

One of the most striking results in the field of healable materials has recently emerged from a class of commercial... 

Murphy EB, Wudl F (2010) The world of smart healable materials. Prog Pol5fm Sci 35 223-251... 

Murphy, E.B., andFied Wudl, F., The Worid of Smart Healable Materials , Progress in Polymer Science, 35,223-251, 2010. 

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