Conditional repair by locally switching the thermal healing capability of dynamic covalent polymers with light

Healable materials are typically repaired by heat, which can affect the properties of the substance. Here the authors report a dynamic covalent polymer network in which light can switch the healing abilities on or off, allowing healing at defined locations without affecting the polymer as a whole.

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Anne Fuhrmann, Robert Göstl, Robert Wendt, Julia Kötteritzsch, Martin D. Hager, Ulrich S. Schubert, Kerstin Brademann-Jock, Andreas F. Thünemann, Ulrich Nöchel, Marc Behl, Stefan Hecht
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2016-12-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13623
Description
Summary:Healable materials are typically repaired by heat, which can affect the properties of the substance. Here the authors report a dynamic covalent polymer network in which light can switch the healing abilities on or off, allowing healing at defined locations without affecting the polymer as a whole.
ISSN:2041-1723