Room-temperature autonomous self-healing glassy polymers with hyperbranched structure

Abstract

Significance Glassy polymers are widely used as structural materials in aerospace vehicles, airplanes, automobiles, biomedical devices, and so on. However, glassy polymers are difficult to self-heal at room temperature due to their frozen molecules. For example, the window glass of airplanes made of polycarbonate cannot repair mechanical damages autonomously, which could lead to a catastrophe. To impart glassy polymers with self-healing ability, we take advantage of the high mobility of hyperbranched polymers, and introduce hydrogen complementary moieties onto the hyperbranched structure, enabling the construction of a series of autonomous room-temperature self-healing glassy polymers.