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A polymer that responds to mechanical stress like a muscle

12.02.2021

Scientists have created segmented polyurethane elastomers with mechanochromic and self-reinforcing features. The development is useful for intuitive damage detection and the creation of adaptive materials.

An important ability of such a biological tissue as muscles is self-healing and self-reinforcing. It occurs in response to damage caused by external forces. Most artificial polymers break down irreversibly when subjected to sufficient mechanical stress. This makes them less useful for, for example, the production of artificial organs. But what if you could create polymers that react chemically to mechanical stress and use that energy to improve their properties?

A team of scientists from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yamagata University and Sagami Institute of Chemical Research, Japan, has made significant progress in the field of bulk self-reinforcing substances. Their new polymer reacts to mechanical stress almost like a muscle.

Segmented polyurethanes (SPUs) containing difluorenylsuccinonitrile (DFSN) fragments and methacryloyl groups have been synthesized. The resulting elastomers formed pink cyanofluorene radicals and changed color when compressed or stretched. This is the first example of crosslinking reactions under force, achieved only by stretching or compressing the bulk film. Credit: Tokyo Tech

The team created segmented polyurethane polymer chains with hard and soft functional segments. The soft segments contain DFSN molecules acting as their "weakest link", with both halves connected by a single covalent bond. The side chains of the soft segments end in methacryloyl units. When the polymer is subjected to mechanical stress, such as simple compression or stretching, the DFSN molecule splits into two equal cyanofluorene (CF) radicals. These CF radicals, unlike DFSN, turn pink, making it easy to visually detect damage.

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