A novel
self-healable, fully reprocessable, and inkjet three-dimensional
(3D) printable partially biobased elastomer is reported in this work.
A long-chain unsaturated diacrylate monomer was first synthesized
from canola oil and then cross-linked with a partially oxidized silicon-based
copolymer containing free thiol groups and disulfide bonds. The elastomer
is fabricated through inkjet 3D printing utilizing the photoinitiated
thiol-ene click chemistry and reprocessed by compression molding exploiting
the dynamic nature of disulfide bond. Self-healing is enabled by phosphine-catalyzed
disulfide metathesis. The elastomer displayed a tensile strength of
∼52 kPa, a breaking strain of ∼24, and ∼86% healing
efficiency at 80 °C temperature after 8 h. Moreover, the elastomer
showed excellent thermal stability, and the highest thermal degradation
temperature was recorded to be ∼524 °C. After reprocessing
through compression molding, the elastomer fully recovered its mechanical
and thermal properties. These properties of the elastomer yield an
ecofriendly alternative of fossil fuel-based elastomers that can find
broad applications in soft robotics, flexible wearable devices, strain
sensors, health care, and next-generation energy-harvesting and -storage
devices.
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