Thermally reversible thermoset materials based on the chemical modification of alternating aliphatic polyketones

This thesis focused on the synthesis and characterization of different kinds of reversible thermosets and thermoset nanocomposite materials by using alternating aliphatic polyketone (PK) as raw material. Fundamental knowledge was generated regarding the molecular design of new polymers via chemical modification of PK with aliphatic and aromatic amine compounds. The resulting thermally reversible thermoset systems were investigated to outline the benefits for the synergistic cooperation between reversible covalent and supramolecular interactions. Moreover, improvements regarding the mechanical performance, reversibility, recyclability, self-healing and electrical conductivity of the thermosets were investigated by incorporating rubber particles and nanofillers into the thermoset matrices. In first instance we investigated the chemical modification of alternating aliphatic polyketones with aliphatic and aromatic amine compounds using the Paal-Knorr reaction to obtain thermally reversible polymers with relatively high glass transition temperatures. These materials display the desired mechanical properties with the exception of toughness. This could be achieved by preparing a reversible and toughened thermoset system based on the covalent incorporation of furan-functionalized ethylene-propylene rubber into a thermoset furan-functionalized polyketone. In order to confer also electrical properties to these materials, conductive nanocomposites containing well-distributed, exfoliated and undamaged MWCNTs were prepared. These new materials, designed by mixing furan-functionalized polyketone cross-linked with aromatic bis-maleimide and MWCNTs via Diels-Alder (DA) reversible cycloaddition, display electrically-induced self-healing properties