A self-healing supramolecular polymer gel with stimuli-responsiveness constructed by crown ether based molecular recognition

A cross-linked supramolecular polymer network gel was prepared by orthogonal self-assembly of two homoditopic monomers and a metallic cross-linker. The gel is transparent and free-standing, which not only shows an interesting gel-sol transition in response to quadruple-stimuli, but also exhibits self-healing properties, as can be seen by the naked eye and as evidenced by rheological characterization. These unique features are all due to the dynamically reversible host-guest complexation and good mechanical properties of the cross-linked polymer network. Therefore, these fascinating properties make this supramolecular gel an unprecedentedly intelligent material