Scientists in China have fabricated a high-strength elastomer with self-healing properties. The polymer has significant potential in the field of flexible electronic devices.
In a new study, published in Polymer International, researchers from a consortium of universities across Shanghai, China, have described a new poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based elastomer that can self-repair after damage, to maintain shape and performance. The flexible polymer is a solution to a longstanding issue with the durability of flexible electronic devices.
In recent years, flexible electronics have been attracting a lot of attention across multiple industries, with potential applications including flexible patch sensors to monitor blood glucose concentration, and flexible energy storage devices for wearable electronics. Currently however, the long-term stability of such materials is an issue, as Dr Zili Li, Associate Professor at Fudan University, China, and corresponding author of the study, explained.
Speaking to SCI, he said: ‘Flexible polymer materials have been extensively explored in electronic devices, especially for healthcare and AI science. We want to solve the long-term reliability of the polymer matrix, which may be broken due to the external force damage, corrosion, or fatigue during operation.’
The study focuses on improving the properties of PVA, a polymer with excellent mechanical properties, but with poor stretchability and self-healing performance due to strong intramolecular and intermolecular bonds.
By using a one-step esterification reaction, the researchers added side chains onto the main PVA backbone, to create a graft polymer and subsequently incorporated Fe3+ ions into the matrix.
The resulting polymer had good stretchability (fracture elongation of 1565.0%) and self-healing performance (self-healing efficiency of 53.4% at room temperature) whilst maintaining excellent mechanical properties.
The team tested the performance of the graft polymer by coating the elastomers in a silver nanowire network to create a strain sensor. The resulting sensor exhibited high sensitivity and good self-healing performance. The authors noted that this result demonstrates ‘the wide potential applicability of the prepared PVA-based elastomers in health care, electrocardiography and safety monitoring.’