Self‐healing triggering mechanism in epoxy‐based material containing microencapsulated amino‐polysiloxane

Abstract

This work combines non‐destructive X‐ray micro‐computed tomography (µCT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study the self‐healing triggering mechanism in a system consisting of an epoxy resin, based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, with embedded poly(urea‐formaldehyde) (PUF) microcapsules filled with an amino‐functional polysiloxane (PDMS‐a) as a healing agent. µCT and SEM analyses proved that PDMS‐a was effective in filling the microcrack areas, providing an efficient self‐healing process, and confirmed that the main mechanisms for increasing fracture toughness are due to crack bowing and deflections. It was also observed that the diameter and shell thickness of the microcapsules are essential factors for their dispersion and integrity into the polymer matrix. PUF microcapsules with shell thickness of ca. 0.4 µm and diameters <60 µm were stable and well dispersed within the matrix. These findings shed light for understanding the increase of the fracture toughness, after self‐healing, reported in our previous study of this system.

Self‐healing polymers for aviation applications and their impact on circular economy

“…A recent review by Fenglei Zhang et al covers various technologies to obtain extrinsic self‐healing in epoxy 62 . Other researchers have also reported similar studies 63–68 . Wan et al have also shown the nondestructive approach for carbon fiber and epoxy composites, which shows excellent self‐healing potential 69 .…”

“…62 Other researchers have also reported similar studies. [63][64][65][66][67][68] Wan et al have also shown the nondestructive approach for carbon fiber and epoxy composites, which shows excellent self-healing potential. 69 Scientists and researchers are focusing on achieving a practical level of self-healing for epoxy polymer.…”