Development of a highly efficient extrinsic and autonomous self-healing polymeric system at low and ultra-low temperatures for high-performance applications

There is a growing demand of self-healing materials to overcome the costs derived from repairing and substituting pieces and components due continuous damages. Among the pursued strategies, the development of self-healing systems capable of operate at real low temperatures remains unsolved. In this study, we report the development of an extrinsic self-healing system for composite materials that has demonstrated an efficiency above 100% at low/ultra-low temperatures. This mechanism is based on the Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) of a blend of 5-ethylidenenorbornene/dicyclopentadiene (ENB/DCPD) monomers in the presence of ruthenium-based 3rd generation Grubbs’ catalyst (G3). The blend was microencapsulated in formaldehyde-free polyurea vessels and dispersed into three different commercial epoxy resins. Tapered Double Cantilever Beam (TDCB) specimens of the modified resins were manufactured, tested and healed at low/ultra-low temperature conditions completely autonomously. All samples showed high self-healing efficiency, demonstrating the potential incorporation in real composite materials for high performance fields.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft