A Photohealable Polyurethane with Superior Robustness and Healing Ratio
Fanhao Zeng, Jingyi Ning, Yunyun Yang, Chong Tian, Lei Huang, Fuqi Zhao, Qiang Liu, Meiling Cui, Jiahao Lv, Yunfeng Jiang, Xufu Cai, Weibo Kong
Abstract
Combining photohealing and reprocessing in covalent adaptive networks (CANs) offers a convenient healing condition and extended life span. Herein, we propose a strategy to fabricate photohealable polyurethanes (PHPUs) by molecule design. Benefiting from their permanent covalent crosslinking structure, PHPUs present superior mechanical robustness and high healing ratio; specifically, their tensile strength attains 36 MPa and toughness attains 86 MJ/m3. Furthermore, PHPU-3 exhibits an excellent healing ratio of 99%/94% under heat/photostimulation. Additionally, the shape programming of the PHPUs can proceed under the remote control of infrared (IR) light. The combination of the above performance provides PHPUs with a practical application prospect.