High-toughness, extensile and self-healing PDMS elastomers constructed by decuple hydrogen bonding

Abstract

Elastomers are widely used in traditional industries and new intelligent fields. However, they are inevitably damaged by electricity, heat, force, etc. during the working process. With the continuous improvement of reliability and environmental protection requirements in human production and living, it is vital to develop elastomer materials with good mechanical properties that are not easily damaged and can self-heal after being damaged. Nevertheless, there are often contradictions between mechanical properties and self-healing as well as toughness, strength, and ductility. Herein, a strong and dynamic decuple hydrogen bonding based on carbon hydrazide (CHZ) is reported, accompanied with soft polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chains to prepare self-healing (efficiency 98.7%), recyclable, and robust elastomers (CHZ–PDMS). The strategy of decuple hydrogen bonding will significantly impact the study of the mechanical properties of elastomers. High stretchability (1731%) and a high toughness of 23.31 MJ m⁻³ are achieved due to the phase-separated structure and energy dissipation. The recyclability of CHZ–PDMS further supports the concept of environmental protection. The application of CHZ–PDMS as a flexible strain sensor exhibited high sensitivity.