Blending to Make Nonhealable Polymers Healable: Nanophase Separation Observed by CP/MAS ¹³C NMR Analysis

Abstract

Can commodity polymers are made to be healable just by blending with self-healable polymers? Here we report the first study on the fundamental aspect of this practically challenging issue. Poly(ether thiourea) (PTUEG 3 ; T g = 27 °C) reported in 2018 is extraordinary in that it is mechanically robust but can self-heal even at 12 °C. In contrast, poly(octamethylene thiourea) (PTUC 8 ; T g = 50 °C), an analogue of PTUEG 3 , cannot heal below 92 °C. We found that their polymer blend self-healed in a temperature range above 32 °C even when its PTUEG 3 content was only 20 mol %. Unlike PTUEG 3 alone, this polymer blend, upon exposure to high humidity, barely plasticized, keeping its excellent mechanical properties due to the non-hygroscopic nature of the PTUC 8 component. CP/MAS 13 C NMR analysis revealed that the polymer blend was nanophase-separated, which possibly accounts for why such a small amount of PTUEG 3 provided the polymer blend with humidity-tolerant self-healable properties.