Facile Preparation of Polydimethylsiloxane Elastomer with Self‐Healing Property and Remoldability Based on Diels–Alder Chemistry

• Published in: Macromolecular materials and engineering Vol. 303; no. 6
• Main Authors: Wang, Jinke, Lv, Chi, Li, Zhongxiao, Zheng, Junping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.06.2018
• Subjects: Artificial muscles; Chemical bonds; Crosslinking; Diels–Alder reactions; Elastomers; Flexible components; Healing; Mechanical properties; Molecular chains; Organic chemistry; Polydimethylsiloxane; Protective coatings; remolding; self‐healing
• ISSN: 1438-7492; 1439-2054
• DOI: 10.1002/mame.201800089

The polydimethylisioxane elastomer based on Diels–Alder (DA) chemistry is successfully prepared by directly crosslinking bis(3‐aminopropyl)‐terminated polydimethylsiloxane with the bisepoxide containing two DA bonds in one molecule via epoxy‐amine reaction. The elastomer prepared based on DA chemistry exhibits good mechanical property, high self‐healing, and remolded efficiencies. The as‐prepared elastomer can be stretched to over 400% and its tensile strength can reach 0.80 MPa. The self‐healing efficiency and remolded efficiency are up to 93% and 95%, respectively. This work provides a simple and efficient way to fabricate the self‐healing and remolded polydimethylsiloxane elastomer with good mechanical properties. The as‐prepared elastomer has a promising potential in artificial muscles, protective coatings, and intelligent flexible electronics. A novel crosslinking network of poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomer is designed. The elastomer based on Diels–Alder chemistry is prepared through a simple and efficient route, showing high tensile strength (≈0.8 MPa) and excellent self‐healing property and remoldability. The self‐healing efficiency and remolded efficiency are up to 93% and 95%, respectively.