Many thermoplastic polymers are ductile by combining
strength and
large deformations. These deformations are irreversible known
as plastic deformation. Elastomers can deform reversibly but have
low strength. To this end, we developed glassy and ductile polyamide
networks capable of large plastic deformation (>200% strain) and
high
strength (∼50 MPa tensile strength and ∼1500 MPa Young’s
modulus), similar to those of polyolefins and Nylon-66. We discovered
that hydrogen bonding between meta-phthalamide groups was essential
to the ductility. Since these polyamide networks are covalently bonded,
we demonstrated their unique durability by repeatable elastic recovery
at elevated temperatures, exhibiting indifferent tensile properties
in each cycle. Furthermore, when we fixed the strain during the elastic
recovery, these polyamide networks actuated stresses of 9–18
MPa, among the highest reported in shape-memory polymer actuators.
We envision these ductile, glassy polymer networks as promising alternatives
to ductile thermoplastics, given the combined benefit of ductility
and durability.