New complex based on cobalt (II) acrylate and 4′-phenyl-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine (PhTpy) was synthesized and characterized using a number of analytical techniques including IR and UV- vis spectroscopy, elemental, X-Ray and TGA/DSC analysis. The complex has high thermal stability and crystallinity. It is found that decomposition of the complex is accompanied by thermal polymerization of acrylic fragments that is a potential way for the preparation nanoparticles of metals or their oxides stabilized by the polymer matrix.

Currently, the chemistry of self-healing polymers is aimed not only at obtaining materials with high self-healing efficiency, but also at improving their mechanical performance. This paper reports on a successful attempt to obtain self-healing copolymers films of acrylic acid, acrylamide and a new metal-containing complex of cobalt acrylate with a 4′-phenyl-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine ligand. Samples of the formed copolymer films were characterized by ATR/FT-IR and UV-vis spectroscopy, elemental analysis, DSC and TGA, SAXS, WAXS and XRD studies. The incorporation of the metal-containing complex directly into the polymer chain results in an excellent tensile strength (122 MPa) and modulus of elasticity (4.3 GPa) of the obtained films. The resulting copolymers demonstrated self-healing properties both at acidic pH (assisted by HCl healing) with effective preservation of mechanical properties, and autonomously in a humid atmosphere at room temperature without the use of initiators. At the same time, with a decrease in the content of acrylamide, a decrease in the reducing properties was observed, possibly due to an insufficient amount of amide groups to form hydrogen bonds through the interface with terminal carboxyl groups, as well as a decrease in the stability of complexes in samples with a high content of acrylic acid.