Biobased thermosetting networks that can self-heal harnessing transesterification reactions

F. ALTUNA; J. PUIG; C. E. HOPPE; V. PETTARIN; R. J. J. WILLIAMS

Conferencia; 12th Conference "Polymers for advanced technologies"; 2013

The extended use of thermosetting polymers and the subsequent need to improve its durability have led to the development of tougher materials that can have a longer service life. Traditional means to achieve such improvement involve the modification of the base formulation, leading to phase-separated structures, or the use of fibers or particles as reinforcement to obtain composite materials. On the other hand, a novel method that have been under investigation since a few decades ago and gained attention recently, proposes the use of self-healing polymers1. The idea is that when a crack initiates, the polymer itself, with or without external stimuli, repairs the crack preventing its growth.