Synthesis of self-healing Diels-Alder cross-linked polymer

Many materials now in industrial use require a separate step of passivation in order to prolong the material’s lifetime, thus giving rise to the increased need and rapid development of materials with self-healing properties. Therefore, it is of great interest that our project will be exploring into this area of research. This report will explain the methodology of fabricating the self-healing polymer and the different experiments conducted in detail. Polyethylene, 15%wt Acrylic Acid was used as the main polymeric material to undergo DA reaction to form a self-healing polymer. This is done by using Furfurylamine and Bismaleimide as the cross-linkers between the polymer chains. Several experiments were conducted during the course of the project. Firstly, the suitability of Methylene Chloride as a substitute for Tetrahydrofuran was confirmed. Secondly, the time taken for the polymer to gel with respect to the amount of cross-linkers added was obtained. Lastly, the retro Diels-Alder experiments to test the self-healing properties of the fabricated polymers. The techniques that were employed to study the products of these experiments, i.e., Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry will also be discussed. The results and discussion show that the polymer, although it underwent the DA reactions, was unable to have a 100% recovery. Therefore, further investigations and studies can be considered.Bachelor of Engineering (Materials Engineering