Founded in 1895 as Peiyang University, Tianjin University is the oldest institute of higher education in China, and pioneered the development of modern Chinese education.
Research News
Researchers Develop Universally Autonomous Self-healing Elastomer
Research
Synthetic materials that can mimic self-healing natural tissues such as skins and muscles are now widely applied to e-skin, wearable electronic devices, and artificial muscles, significantly improving materials’ lifetime, robustness and safety.
However, it is very challenging to develop autonomous self-healing materials for applications in harsh conditions such as at ultralow temperatures, in super cold seawater, or in stronglyacid/alkali environment.
A research team at Tianjin University led Prof. Zhang Lei and Associate Prof. Yang Jing from the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology reports to have developed a new supramolecular elastomer that can achieve fast autonomous self-healing under all various harsh conditions, and relevant research results have been published in Nature Communications (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-15949-8).
The new design of the supramolecular elastomer with high strechability and universally autonomous self-healing ability.
Attributable to the synergistic interaction of multiple dynamic bonds, including the hydrophilic H-bonds and disulfide metathesis, the novel supramolecular elastomer developed in this work exhibits high strechability for both unnotched (14000%) and notch (1300%) samples. It can also achieve autonomous self-healing in various extreme conditions, such as ultra-low temperature (-40℃), supercooled high-concentrated saltwater (30% saltwater at -10℃), and strong acid/alkali environment (pH=0 or 14).
“This work illustrates a promising material with high-stretchable and rapid self-healing properties in multiple harsh conditions” Prof. Zhang noted, “We are working on the further development of self-healing artificial e-skins applied in extreme environment such as the deep sea and polar regions.”
By the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology
Editor: Eva Yin