A Tailorable Series of Elastomeric‐To‐Rigid, Selfhealable, Shape Memory Bismaleimide

Abstract

In recent years, there has been rapid development in the field of shape memory materials with active deformation performance. However, bismaleimide, a widely used thermosetting material in aerospace, has been largely overlooked in shape memory applications. This work presents the synthesis of a molecule containing an alkene bond adjacent to an oxygen atom. Through molecular design, a one‐time reaction between this specialized molecule and the bismaleimide molecule is successfully achieved, facilitated by the steric hindrance effect. Therefore, a new series of shape memory bismaleimide materials are obtained. By introducing a diamine to adjust the chain length, the properties of material are further improved, resulting in increasing static modulus by 506 times. The synthesized materials exhibit a broad glass transition temperature (Tg) range exceeding 153 °C, remarkable stiffness tunability. Notably, in the synthesis process of this materials series, the disulfide bonds are introduced, which facilitates the realization of self‐healing and reprocessable functionalities in the resulting thermosetting materials. This significant advancement lays a solid foundation for the future recycling and reuse of aircraft, satellites, and other equipment, offering promising prospects for enhancing sustainability and efficiency within the aerospace industry.

Self-Healing Polymers Coupling Shape Memory Effect

“…(A) Thermal trigger shape memory cycle process. The structure consists of four materials with different response temperatures . Reproduced with permission from ref .…”

“…The structure consists of four materials with different response temperatures . Reproduced with permission from ref . Copyright 2023, Wiley-VCH.…”

“…Thermal-Driven SMPs. As shown in Figure 3A, Li et al 38 synthesized a series of thermoset materials exhibiting shape memory properties. These materials provide adjustable stiffness and deformation characteristics at various T trans .…”

A Review on the Current State of Microcapsule-Based Self-Healing Dental Composites

“…Therefore, it is necessary to explore effective methods to solve the above problems, and self-healing polymer materials based on biological bionics emerge as the times require. In the past two decades, self-healing polymers have been extensively reported in engineering, aerospace and other fields [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ], which has also inspired attempts in the field of dentistry.…”

“…engineering, aerospace and other fields [12][13][14][15], which has also inspired attempts in the field of dentistry.…”