Triggering the Self‐Healing Properties of Modified Bromobutyl Rubber by Intrinsically Electrical Heating

Abstract

In this study, the development and characterization of an intrinsically self‐healable material have been reported based on bromobutyl rubber (BIIR) modified with imidazole (Im) and loaded with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as reinforcing and electrically conducting agent. The ionic imidazolium groups facilitate an ionic network, which imparts the composites a pronounced self‐healing behavior. The cation‐π bondings between modified BIIR and CNT surface improve the rubber‐filler interaction leading to a better mechanical performance and a higher electrical conductivity of the composites. It has been demonstrated that the healing process can be accelerated by applying an electrical current across a damaged surface of a test specimen owing to the Joule heating effect. The recovery of the mechanical and electrical properties of the composites is investigated under different test conditions and specifically discussed in terms of the rubber‐filler interactions and the filler dispersion. The applied scientific approach with the exploration of the unique nature of the imidazolium modified and CNT loaded BIIR may promote developments for a new class of rubber materials for different smart and technological applications.

Quantification of the scratch-healing efficiency for novel zwitterionic polymers

“…Depending on the intended application, an appropriate functional group and reaction type for an intrinsic self-healing polymer is selected, thereby predetermining the nature of the trigger. This chemical toolbox contains various approaches, such as the incorporation of reversible covalent linkers (e.g., Diels-Alder (DA) reactions 10 and imines 11 ) or supramolecular compounds (e.g., hydrogen bonds 12 and ionic interactions) [13][14][15][16][17] . For further insights into self-healing polymers with dynamic covalent bonds, interested readers are kindly referred to a recent review 3 .…”

Combination of Self-Healing Butyl Rubber and Natural Rubber Composites for Improving the Stability

“…For the IL-based composites, higher Tan δ max value is observed in case of composites with CNT CB and CNT CB -IM. This is due to the plasticizing effect of the existing IL in the composites which increases the chain mobility and decreases the damping properties of the composites [ 51 ].…”

Self-Healing Polymer Nanocomposite Materials by Joule Effect

“…A system containing 5 wt.% of CNTs as filler displayed a resistivity of 6 × 10 2 ohm/cm. The temperature reached ranged from 110 to 200 °C when applying a voltage of 38 V for self-healing [ 102 ] ( Figure 10 ).…”

“… ( a ) Chemical structure of butyl bromide polymer bearing imidazole groups, ( b ) interactions between BIIR and CNTs, and ( c ) SEM images of self-healing after cut the surface [ 102 ]. Adapted with permission from Le,H.H; Macromolecular Materials and Engineering; published by Wiley, 2017.…”