Hydrophobic cyclodextrin dimer-assisted self-healing elastomer: movable crosslinks of pseudo-rotaxane with recyclable and separable functionality

Abstract

We fabricated a movable cross-linked elastomer derived from a pseudo-rotaxane by utilizing a dimer structure, in which the ring molecules made a threaded structure onto a polymer backbone, by simple bulk polymerization. The pseudo-rotaxane cross-linked elastomer exhibited facile healing and good stretching corresponding to the stress relaxation, which can contribute to the increment of fracture energy. We separated the topologically cross-linked dimer compounds from the threaded polymer backbone compound, constituting a recyclable cross-linker for a circular economy as a sustainable material.