A High Strength but Fast Fracture‐Self‐Healing Thermoplastic Elastomer

Abstract

Herein, a new type of healable thermoplastic poly(urethane-urea) (PUU) elastomer with a unique dual dynamic network structure consisting of multi-strength hydrogen bonds and aromatic disulfide bonds, is designed and synthesized. The resultant PUU elastomer exhibits high tensile strength (41 MPa), great toughness (104 MJ m^-3 ), and excellent self-healing capability (completely severes, heals at 60 ℃ for just 1 h, and recovers more than 80% of the original tensile strength). Although the PUU possesses high-density hydrogen bonds, it is completely homogeneous without micro-phase separation. The unique dual dynamic network structure alleviates the adverse effects of strong molecular interactions on self-healing process, simultaneously endowing the polymer with outstanding mechanical properties and excellent self-healing capability at mild temperature. In addition, the underlying mechanism between performance and structure is revealed. The PUU has potential applications in soft robots and wearable electronics.