Dynamic chemistry: The next generation platform for various elastomers and their mechanical properties with self-healing performance

Abstract

Tires, seals, tubes, and damping systems are examples of conventional elastomer products made by the vulcanization process. Covalent cross-linking of the network structures produced by this technique provides chemical resistance, thermal stability, and mechanical robustness. Conventionally vulcanized elastomers, however, are one of the principal barriers to waste management of commercial elastomer products since they cannot be reprocessed or reconfigured due to the persisting covalent networks. It is necessary to replace the static cross-linked networks that can achieve mechanical stability, thermal stability, and chemical resistance to reuse, reprocess, and recycle miscellaneous previously recycled and cross-linked traditionally. Conventional elastomers can create reversibly cross-linked structures by including dynamic covalent bonds or supramolecular interactions. With careful tuning, the network's synergy between the dynamic bonds achieves a balance between ease of processing, mechanical properties, recyclability, and structural stability. Elastomers can also have “alive” properties like self-healing capabilities and stimulus reactivity thanks to dynamic covalent bonding and supramolecular interactions like imine bond formation, disulfide metathesis reactions, Diels Alder reactions, metal–ligand interactions, H-bonding, and ionic bonds. This review paper focuses on the applications of dynamic chemistry for improving mechanical characteristics and self-healing in elastomers. The dynamic chemistry of different elastomers with their self-healing ability and difficult expectations have been considered.