Besides a stable phase, shape‐memory polymers require an additional switchable moiety. In addition to thermal transitions and supramolecular interactions, these units can also be based on covalent bonds. Herein, the use of the reversible thiol‐ene reaction as reversible cross‐linker for the design of shape‐memory polymers is demonstrated. A facile route to polymer networks with a thiol‐ene acceptor and a comonomer (butyl methacrylate or 2‐ethylhexyl methacrylate) cross‐linked by dithiols is introduced. The thermal and mechanical properties of the resulting polymers are characterized in detail. Hereby, the polymers feature excellent shape‐memory behavior with fixity and recovery rates above 90%. This study shows that the thiol‐ene cross‐linker can function as both, the stable and the switchable structural moiety rendering the usage of a covalent cross‐linker unnecessary. This partial reversibility can also be proven by temperature‐depending Raman spectroscopy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.