Stretchable, Ultratough, and Intrinsically Self-Extinguishing Elastomers with Desirable Recyclability

Yijiao Xue; Jinyou Lin; Tao Wan; Yanlong Luo; Zhewen Ma; Yonghong Zhou; Bryan T Tuten; Meng Zhang; Xinyong Tao; Pingan Song

doi:10.1002/advs.202207268

Stretchable, Ultratough, and Intrinsically Self-Extinguishing Elastomers with Desirable Recyclability

Adv Sci (Weinh). 2023 Mar;10(9):e2207268. doi: 10.1002/advs.202207268. Epub 2023 Jan 22.

Authors

Yijiao Xue¹, Jinyou Lin², Tao Wan³, Yanlong Luo⁴, Zhewen Ma⁵, Yonghong Zhou¹, Bryan T Tuten⁶, Meng Zhang¹, Xinyong Tao⁷, Pingan Song^{8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF), Nanjing, 210042, China.
² Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201204, China.
³ School of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2502, Australia.
⁴ College of Science, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China.
⁵ Department of Polymer Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 201804, China.
⁶ Centre for Materials Science, School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia.
⁷ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China.
⁸ Centre for Future Materials, Unviersity of Southern Queensland, Springfield, 4300, Australia.
⁹ School of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Unviersity of Southern Queensland, Springfield, 4300, Australia.

Abstract

Advanced elastomers are increasingly used in emerging areas, for example, flexible electronics and devices, and these real-world applications often require elastomers to be stretchable, tough and fire safe. However, to date there are few successes in achieving such a performance portfolio due to their different governing mechanisms. Herein, a stretchable, supertough, and self-extinguishing polyurethane elastomers by introducing dynamic π-π stacking motifs and phosphorus-containing moieties are reported. The resultant elastomer shows a large break strain of ≈2260% and a record-high toughness (ca. 460 MJ m^-3 ), which arises from its dynamic microphase-separated microstructure resulting in increased entropic elasticity, and strain-hardening at large strains. The elastomer also exhibits a self-extinguishing ability thanks to the presence of both phosphorus-containing units and π-π stacking interactions. Its promising applications as a reliable yet recyclable substrate for strain sensors are demonstrated. The work will help to expedite next-generation sustainable advanced elastomers for flexible electronics and devices applications.

Keywords: mechanical robustness; polyurethane elastomers; self-extinguishing; strain-hardening; stretchable device; π-π stacking.

Abstract

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