Non-Covalent Interaction on the Self-Healing of Mechanical Properties in Supramolecular Polymers

Abstract

Supramolecular polymers are widely utilized and applied in self–assembly or self–healing materials, which can be repaired when damaged. Normally, the healing process is classified into two types, including extrinsic and intrinsic self–healable materials. Therefore, the aim of this work is to review the intrinsic self–healing strategy based on supramolecular interaction or non-covalent interaction and molecular recognition to obtain the improvement of mechanical properties. In this review, we introduce the main background of non-covalent interaction, which consists of the metal–ligand coordination, hydrogen bonding, π–π interaction, electrostatic interaction, dipole–dipole interaction, and host–guest interactions, respectively. From the perspective of mechanical properties, these interactions act as transient crosslinking points to both prevent and repair the broken polymer chains. For material utilization in terms of self–healing products, this knowledge can be applied and developed to increase the lifetime of the products, causing rapid healing and reducing accidents and maintenance costs. Therefore, the self–healing materials using supramolecular polymers or non-covalent interaction provides a novel strategy to enhance the mechanical properties of materials causing the extended cycling lifetime of products before replacement with a new one.

Chemical Modification of Oxidized Polyethylene Enables Access to Functional Polyethylenes with Greater Reuse

“…We also evaluated changes in the mechanical properties that result from the installation of this suite of functional groups. We postulated that the mechanical properties of benzoyloxy polymer 4d containing pendent esters would be distinct from those of unmodified LDPE because of the ability of the esters to create interchain interactions noncovalently. , …”

“…We postulated that the mechanical properties of benzoyloxy polymer 4d containing pendent esters would be distinct from those of unmodified LDPE because of the ability of the esters to create interchain interactions noncovalently. 60,61 To assess this hypothesis, tensile tests of the benzoyloxy polymer 4d were conducted. The tensile strength of polymer 4d (15.0 ± 2.2 MPa) was similar to that of unmodified LDPE (11.4 ± 1.1 MPa), whereas the elongation at break and toughness of polymer 4d (991.2 ± 167.2% and 106.3 ± 27.6 MPa, respectively) were clearly higher than the corresponding values of unmodified LDPE (227.8 ± 96.8% and 19.5 ± 9.8 MPa, respectively; Figure 4B).…”

Recent Developments in Shape Memory Elastomers for Biotechnology Applications

“…They almost recovered from damage after the healing process at 130 • C for 3 h. Therefore, a fusing efficiency of 120% was reached [86]. Furthermore, the indexes for quantifying the self-healing abilities were presented in Buaksuntear et al ( 2022) [87]. Generally, the many methods for analysing the self-healing abilities can be summarised as follows: (i) visual aspect of samples, (ii) micrograph analysis using an optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), or transmission electron microscope (TEM), and (iii) healing efficiency calculations, which are compared to the mechanical properties before and after the self-healing process.…”

“…Generally, the many methods for analysing the self-healing abilities can be summarised as follows: (i) visual aspect of samples, (ii) micrograph analysis using an optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), or transmission electron microscope (TEM), and (iii) healing efficiency calculations, which are compared to the mechanical properties before and after the self-healing process. For example, Furthermore, the indexes for quantifying the self-healing abilities were presented in Buaksuntear et al (2022) [87]. Generally, the many methods for analysing the self-healing abilities can be summarised as follows: (i) visual aspect of samples, (ii) micrograph analysis using an optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), or transmission electron microscope (TEM), and (iii) healing efficiency calculations, which are compared to the mechanical properties before and after the self-healing process.…”

Can Supramolecular Polymers Become Another Material Choice for Polymer Flooding to Enhance Oil Recovery?

“…The strength of the force is similar to that of the covalent bond, and it has high directivity and stability [ 83 ]. Supramolecular polymers can form a stable three-dimensional network structure through the complexation of side chain groups and high valent metal ions [ 28 , 83 , 84 , 85 ], which affects its hydrodynamic volume and plays a role in viscosity enhancement. Santo studied the transition of polymer viscoelastic fluid sol–gel through molecular dynamics simulation and proved that the complexation between metal ions and ligands can form physical cross-links and change the rheological properties of polymers.…”