Photo-induced reversibility as a tool for self-healing: a reversible photo-induced dendritic macromonomer was synthesized and proven to form networks with different features depending on the crosslinking conditions. While networks formed from aqueous systems exhibited a reversible change in their crosslinking degree, networks generated in bulk underwent fully reversibility. The latter was then exploited for generating self-healing materials by means of a photo-induced treatment.

A novel difunctional benzoxazine with o-trifluoroacetamide functionality has been synthesized via Mannich condensation. The chemical structure of synthesized monomer has also been confirmed by 1H, 13C, and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The ring-opening polymerization of the resin and the subsequent conversion of the freshly generated polybenzoxazine into polybenzoxazole are studied by FT-IR and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In addition to the advantage of low polymerization temperature as other reported o-amide benzoxazines, the o-trifluoroacetamide benzoxazine also exhibits an unexpected lower benzoxazole formation temperature. Furthermore, the resulting fluorinated polybenzoxazole derived from the benzoxazine monomer possesses the combined excellent properties of facile synthesis, easy processability, low dielectric constant, high thermal stability, and long shelf life, evidencing its potential applications in microelectronic industries, aerospace, and other high-performance areas.

What inspired you for the cover image? Perhapst he analogy with as pace travel across the universe where no matter the direction there are always new amazing 'things' to be discovered, letting us know and appreciate deeper what we have in hand. Af ew years ago, only very few examples of naturally based benzoxazines were known.T hat was the early stages of aj our-ney that today may be seen as the development of an ovel full topic, biomass-based benzoxazinesa nd polybenzoxazines. Nowadays, new materials based on natural renewable raw materials are investigated, studied, formulated, and applied. Those early 'launches' helpedt o'launch' this novel yet established field within the benzoxazines'a rena, represented in the cover as the 'Green Galaxyo fBenzoxazines'. What is in your opinion an upcoming research theme likely to becomeo ne of the 'hot topics' in the near future? It is hard to make futurology in this sense because there are so many different and equally relevant fields, each of them with their respective subdisciplines. Nevertheless, what we can envisage is that regardless what the upcomingh ot topic or topics might be, they will certainly have to involve the right tools to efficientlyd esign and develop novel materials exploiting good chemistry based on renewable natural resources and sustainability.T his last concept applies not only to the materials themselves but also to their raw materials and methodolo-gies used. Invited for this month'sc over are the groups at the