Multiple Hydrogen Bonding Enables the Self-Healing of Sensors for Human–Machine Interactions

Despite its widespread use in signal collection, flexible sensors have been rarely used in human–machine interactions owing to its indistinguishable signal, poor reliability, and poor stability when inflicted with unavoidable scratches and/or mechanical cuts. A highly sensitive and self-healing sensor enabled by multiple hydrogen bonding network and nanostructured conductive network is demonstrated. The nanostructured supramolecular sensor displays extremely fast (ca. 15 s) and repeatable self-healing ability with high healing efficiency (93 % after the third healing process). It can precisely detect tiny human motions, demonstrating highly distinguishable and reliable signals even after cutting–healing and bending over 20 000 cycles. Furthermore, a human–machine interaction system is integrated to develop a facial expression control system and an electronic larynx, aiming to control the robot to assist the patient's daily life and help the mute to realize real-time speaking.     

A Signal‐Passing DNA‐Strand‐Exchange Mechanism for Active Self‐Assembly of DNA Nanostructures

DNA nanostructured tiles play an active role in their own self‐assembly in the system described herein whereby they initiate a binding event that produces a cascading assembly process. We present DNA tiles that have a simple but powerful property: they respond to a binding event at one end of the tile by passing a signal across the tile to activate a binding site at the other end. This action allows sequential, virtually irreversible self‐assembly of tiles and enables local communication during the self‐assembly process. This localized signal‐passing mechanism provides a new element of control for autonomous self‐assembly of DNA nanostructures.     

Moisture‐mediated intrinsic self‐healing of modified polyurethane urea polymers

Functional materials having the ability to self‐heal cracks or scratches after damage are of great interest for a huge scope of applications. Herein, we report a self‐healing polyurethane urea‐based material with implemented 1‐(2‐aminoethyl) imidazolidone (UDETA) as a chain terminating molecule and for hydrogen bond network formation. Both, UDETA content and moisture affected the self‐healing process. The reversible change in the materials properties was proven by detailed analyses of hardness and thermomechanical behavior in dependence of the water uptake of the samples. FT‐IR analysis revealed that water is able to act as a plasticizer interrupting hydrogen bonding interactions within the polymer network and thus, influencing glass transition temperature and hardness of the samples. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 537–548.     

Facile synthesis of self‐healing gel via magnetocaloric bottom‐ignited frontal polymerization

A series of the self‐healing gels facilely fabricated by VI (N‐vinyl imidazole) and MAH‐β‐CD (β‐cyclodextrin grafted vinyl carboxylic acid groups) via bottom‐ignited frontal polymerization (BIFP) initiated by magnetocaloric effect. Once ignited the bottom phase, the heat upward propagates to generate the “front” in the upper phase. Then, no further energy is added to maintain the reaction and the whole polymerization process experiences within minutes. In this system, the dependence of frontal velocity and temperature, along with morphology, swelling capacity, mechanical property, and self‐healing efficiency, on the preparation parameters is investigated. Interestingly, the gels show good swelling capacity in the organic solvent, comparatively almost no absorption in water. Moreover, the as‐prepared gels exhibit excellent auto‐healing properties without any external stimuli at ambient temperature. The healed sample possesses 97% recovery of its tensile strength after 8 h healing time, which relies largely on the host–guest interaction between VI and MAH‐β‐CD. The results demonstrate that FP can be utilized as an efficient and energy‐saving method to synthesize self‐healing supramolecular gels. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 2585–2593     

Conductive Elastomers with Autonomic Self‐Healing Properties

Healable, electrically conductive materials are highly desirable and valuable for the development of various modern electronics. But the preparation of a material combining good mechanical elasticity, functional properties, and intrinsic self‐healing ability remains a great challenge. Here, we design composites by connecting a polymer network and single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) through host–guest interactions. The resulting materials show bulk electrical conductivity, proximity sensitivity, humidity sensitivity and are able to self‐heal without external stimulus under ambient conditions rapidly. Furthermore, they also possess elasticity comparable to commercial rubbers.     

Light‐Switchable Self‐Healing Hydrogel Based on Host–Guest Macro‐Crosslinking

A self‐healing hydrogel is prepared by crosslinking acrylamide with a host–guest macro‐crosslinker assembled from poly(β‐cyclodextrin) nanogel and azobenzeneacrylamide. The photoisomerizable azobenzene moiety can change its binding affinity with β‐cyclodextrin, therefore the crosslinking density and rheology property of the hydrogel can be tuned with light stimulus. The hydrogel can repair its wound autonomously through the dynamic host–guest interaction. In addition, the wounded hydrogel will lose its ability of self‐healing when exposed to ultraviolet light, and the self‐healing behavior can be recovered upon the irradiation of visible light. The utilizing of host–guest macro‐crosslinking approach manifests the as‐prepared hydrogel reversible and light‐switchable self‐healing property, which would broaden the potential applications of self‐healing polymers.

     

Self‐Healing Polyester Urethane Supramolecular Elastomers Reinforced with Cellulose Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications

Stretchable self‐healing urethane‐based biomaterials have always been crucial for biomedical applications; however, the strength is the main constraint of utilization of these healable materials. Here, a series of novel, healable, elastomeric, supramolecular polyester urethane nanocomposites of poly(1,8‐octanediol citrate) and hexamethylene diisocyanate reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are introduced. Nanocomposites with various amounts of CNCs from 10 to 50 wt% are prepared using solvent casting technique followed by the evaluation of their microstructural features, mechanical properties, healability, and biocompatibility. The synthesized nanocomposites indicate significantly higher tensile modulus (approximately 36–500‐fold) in comparison to the supramolecular polymer alone. Upon exposure to heat, the materials can reheal, but nevertheless when the amount of CNC is greater than 10 wt%, the self‐healing ability of nanocomposites is deteriorated. These materials are capable of rebonding ruptured parts and fully restoring their mechanical properties. In vitro cytotoxicity test of the nanocomposites using human dermal fibroblasts confirms their good cytocompatibility. The optimized structure, self‐healing attributes, and noncytotoxicity make these nanocomposites highly promising for tissue engineering and other biomedical applications.     

An Intrinsically Self‐Healing NiCo||Zn Rechargeable Battery with a Self‐Healable Ferric‐Ion‐Crosslinking Sodium Polyacrylate Hydrogel Electrolyte

Self‐healing solid‐state aqueous rechargeable NiCo||Zn batteries are inherently safe and have a high energy density and mechanical robustness. However, the self‐healability of solid‐state batteries has only been realized by a few studies in which electron/ion‐inactive self‐healable substrates are utilized. This arises from the lack of self‐healable electrolytes. Now an intrinsically self‐healing battery has been designed that utilizes a new electrolyte that is intrinsically self‐healable. Sodium polyacrylate hydrogel chains are crosslinked by ferric ions to promote dynamic reconstruction of an integral network. These non‐covalent crosslinkers can form ionic bonds to reconnect damaged surfaces when the hydrogel is cut off, providing an ultimate solution to the intrinsic self‐healability problem of batteries. As a result, this NiCo||Zn battery with this hydrogel electrolyte can be autonomically self‐healed with over 87 % of capacity retained after 4 cycles of breaking/healing.     

Evaluation of peroxide initiators for radical polymerization‐based self‐healing applications

The suitability of various peroxide initiators for a radical polymerization‐based self‐healing system is evaluated. The initiators are compared using previously established criteria in the design of ring opening metathesis polymerization‐based self‐healing systems. Benzoyl peroxide (BPO) emerges as the best performing initiator across the range of evaluation criteria. Epoxy vinyl ester resin samples prepared with microcapsules containing BPO exhibited upwards of 80% healing efficiency in preliminary tests in which a mixture of acrylic monomers and tertiary amine activator was injected into the crack plane of the sample after the initial fracture. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2698–2708, 2010     

Strong,Self‐Healable,and Recyclable Visible‐Light‐Responsive Hydrogel Actuators

The most pressing challenges for light‐driven hydrogel actuators include reliance on UV light, slow response, poor mechanical properties, and limited functionalities. Now, a supramolecular design strategy is used to address these issues. Key is the use of a benzylimine‐functionalized anthracene group, which red‐shifts the absorption into the visible region and also stabilizes the supramolecular network through π–π interactions. Acid–ether hydrogen bonds are incorporated for energy dissipation under mechanical deformation and maintaining hydrophilicity of the network. This double‐crosslinked supramolecular hydrogel developed via a simple synthesis exhibits a unique combination of high strength, rapid self‐healing, and fast visible‐light‐driven shape morphing both in the wet and dry state. As all of the interactions are dynamic, the design enables the structures to be recycled and reprogrammed into different 3D objects.     

Graphene Enhances the Shape Memory of Poly (acrylamide‐co‐acrylic acid) Grafted on Graphene

Acrylamide and acrylic acid are grafted on graphene by free‐radical polymerization to produce a series of graphene–poly(acrylamide‐co‐acrylic acid) hybrid materials with different contents of graphene. The materials demonstrate shape memory effect and self‐healing ability when the content of graphene is in the range of 10%–30% even though poly(acrylamide‐co‐acrylic acid) itself had poor shape memory ability. The permanent shape of the materials can be recovered well after 20 cycles of cut and self‐healing. The result is attributed to the hard–soft design that can combine nonreversible “cross‐link” by grafting copolymer on graphene and reversible “cross‐link” utilizing the “zipper effect” of poly(acrylamide‐co‐acrylic acid) to form or dissociate the hydrogen‐bond network stimulated by external heating.

     

Electrically driven self‐healing polymers based on reversible guest–host complexation of β‐cyclodextrin and ferrocene

A multifunctional ferrocene‐modified poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA‐Fc) and a difunctional β‐cyclodextrin derivative (bis‐CD) has been prepared for the construction of an electrically driven removable and self‐healing polymeric materials based on the complexation reaction between ferrocene and β‐CD groups. The chemical structures of PGMA‐Fc and bis‐CD have been characterized with Fourier transform infrared, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The effects of electrical voltages and medium conductivity on the decrosslinking efficiency of the crosslinked PGMA‐Fc/CD polymer have been examined. The PGMA‐Fc/CD network has shown removable feature and properties for application as a reworkable crosslinked material. Moreover, the crosslinked PGMA‐Fc/CD sample has shown electrically driven self‐healing behavior. The self‐healing performance could be enhanced with wetting the sample to increase the electrical conductivity. As a result, the material could serve as a self‐healing agent for commercial painting products. Preparation and application of a novel and efficient self‐healing polymer have been demonstrated. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 3395–3403     

Gradient polymer networks formed by photopolymerization with self‐floating polysiloxane‐containing nanogel

Polysiloxane‐containing nanogels can be used as a fast, convenient and environmentally friendly method to control gradient photopolymerization and to obtain gradient polymer network because of its self‐floating feature. The chain length of polysiloxane is a key factor that influences the self‐floating capability of the polysiloxane‐containing nanogel. This paper reports a series of nanogels compositions synthesized with methacrylate‐modified polysiloxanes with different chain lengths, urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) and isobornyl methacrylate (IBMA) at a molar ratio of 10:20:70 in the presence of a thiol chain transfer agent. The effect of polysiloxane chain length on self‐floating capability of the nanogel and gradient polymer network was researched. The results show that polysiloxane chain length is the main driving force for the self‐floating capability of the nanogels. The nanogel with long polysiloxane chain length exhibits good self‐floating capability in the monomer–polymer matrix because of the lower surface tension of polysiloxane. Furthermore, the gradient polymer network containing the nanogel with long polysiloxane chain length presents lower dispersion surface energy and greater hardness and thermostability. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Rapidly Self‐Healing Supramolecular Polymer Hydrogel with Photostimulated Room‐Temperature Phosphorescence Responsiveness

Development of self‐healing and photostimulated luminescent supramolecular polymeric materials is important for artificial soft materials. A supramolecular polymeric hydrogel is reported based on the host–guest recognition between a β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) host polymer (poly‐β‐CD) and an α‐bromonaphthalene (α‐BrNp) polymer (poly‐BrNp) without any additional gelator, which can self‐heal within only about one minute under ambient atmosphere without any additive. This supramolecular polymer system can be excited to engender room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) signals based on the fact that the inclusion of β‐CD macrocycle with α‐BrNp moiety is able to induce RTP emission (CD‐RTP). The RTP signal can be adjusted reversibly by competitive complexation of β‐CD with azobenzene moiety under specific irradiation by introducing another azobenzene guest polymer (poly‐Azo).     

Stretchable Perovskite Solar Cells with Recoverable Performance

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are a promising photovoltaic technology for stretchable applications because of their flexible, light‐weight, and low‐cost characteristics. However, the fragility of crystals and poor crystallinity of perovskite on stretchable substrates results in performance loss. In fact, grain boundary defects are the “Achilles’ heel” of optoelectronic and mechanical stability. We incorporate a self‐healing polyurethane (s‐PU) with dynamic oxime–carbamate bonds as a scaffold into the perovskite films, which simultaneously enhances crystallinity and passivates the grain boundary of the perovskite films. The stretchable PSCs with s‐PU deliver a stabilized efficiency of 19.15 % with negligible hysteresis, which is comparable to the performance on rigid substrates. The PSCs can maintain over 90 % of their initial efficiency after 3000 hours in air because of their self‐encapsulating structure. Importantly, the self‐healing function of the s‐PU scaffold was verified in situ. The s‐PU can release mechanical stress and repair cracks at the grain boundary on multiple levels. The devices recover 88 % of their original efficiency after 1000 cycles at 20 % stretch. We believe that this ingenious growth strategy for crystalline semiconductors will facilitate development of flexible and stretchable electronics.     

Au Nanowire–Au Nanoparticles Conjugated System which Provides Micrometer Size Molecular Sensors

We report a new type of molecular sensor using a Au nanowire (NW)–Au nanoparticles (NPs) conjugated system. The Au NW–NPs structure is fabricated by the self‐assembly of biotinylated Au NPs on a biotinylated Au NW through avidin; this creates hot spots between NW and NPs that strongly enhance the Raman signal. The number of the Au NPs attached to the NW is reproducibly proportional to the concentration of the avidin, and is also proportional to the measured surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) signals. Since this well‐defined NW–NPs conjugated sensor is only a few micrometer long, we expect that development of multiplex nanobiosensor of a few tens micrometer size would become feasible by combining individually modified multiple Au NWs together on one substrate.     

Reciprocal Self‐Assembly of Peptide–DNA Conjugates into a Programmable Sub‐10‐nm Supramolecular Deoxyribonucleoprotein

To overcome the limitations of molecular assemblies, the development of novel supramolecular building blocks and self‐assembly modes is essential to create more sophisticated, complex, and controllable aggregates. The self‐assembly of peptide–DNA conjugates (PDCs), in which two orthogonal self‐assembly modes, that is, β‐sheet formation and Watson–Crick base pairing, are covalently combined in one supramolecular system, is reported. Despite extensive research, most self‐assembly studies have focused on using only one type of building block, which restricts structural and functional diversity compared to multicomponent systems. Multicomponent systems, however, suffer from poor control of self‐assembly behaviors. Covalently conjugated PDC building blocks are shown to assemble into well‐defined and controllable nanostructures. This controllability likely results from the decrease in entropy associated with the restriction of the molecular degrees of freedom by the covalent constraints. Using this strategy, the possibility to thermodynamically program nano‐assemblies to exert gene regulation activity with low cytotoxicity is demonstrated.     

Self‐Healing Materials from V‐ and H‐Shaped Supramolecular Architectures

Integrating self‐healing capability into supramolecular architectures is an interesting strategy, and can considerably enhance the performance and broaden the scope of applications for this important class of polymers. Herein we report the rational design of novel V‐shaped barbiturate (Ba) functionalized soft–hard–soft triblock copolymers with a reversible supramolecular healing motif (Ba) in the central part of the hard block, which undergoes autonomic repair at 30 °C. The designed synthesis also offers a suitable macromolecular building block to further self‐assemble with heterocomplementary α,ω‐Hamilton wedge (HW) functionalized polyisoprene (PI; HW‐PI‐HW), resulting in an H‐shaped supramolecular architecture with efficient self‐healing capabilities that can recover up to around 95 % of the original mechanical performance at 30 °C within 24 h.     

Evaluation of 5‐ethylidene‐2‐norbornene with an adhesion promoter for self‐healing applications

5‐Ethylidene‐2‐norbornene (ENB) has a potential application as part of a new generation of healing agents, owing to its rapid polymerization rate and wide liquid temperature range. In this study, we developed a new self‐healing system using ENB as the healing agent and methyl 5‐norbornene‐2‐carboxylate (MNC) as the adhesion promoter. Dynamic differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to monitor cure behaviors of ENB with different MNC loadings, through which a series of cure temperatures were designed. The MNC loading and cure temperature had significant effects on the adhesion strength. The adhesion strength increased remarkably with MNC loadings of up to 10 wt % compared with ENB alone. The ENB monomer and the ENB/MNC mixture were successfully microencapsulated, and the resultant microcapsules were embedded into an epoxy resin along with Grubbs' catalyst for self‐healing efficiency measurements. Peak fracture loads for both healing agents showed maximal values at a low catalyst loading (0.3 wt %). In comparison with neat ENB, a significant improvement in healing efficiency was observed for the ENB/MNC mixture. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1170–1179     

Spatially Controlled Out‐of‐Equilibrium Host–Guest System under Electrochemical Control

Self‐assembly to create molecular and nanostructures is typically performed at the thermodynamic minimum. To achieve dynamic functionalities, such as adaptability, internal feedback, and self‐replication, there is a growing focus on out‐of‐equilibrium systems. This report presents the dynamic self‐assembly of an artificial host–guest system at an interface, under control by a dissipative electrochemical process using (electrical) energy, resulting in an out‐of‐equilibrium system exhibiting a supramolecular surface gradient. The gradient, its steepness, rate of formation, and complex surface composition after backfilling, as well as the surface compositions after switching between the different states of the system, are assessed and supported by modelling. Our method shows for the first time an artificial surface‐confined out‐of‐equilibrium system. The electrochemical process parameters provide not only control over the system in time, but also in space.