Furan‐Modified Spherosilicates as Building Blocks for Self‐Healing Materials

Abstract

AbstractOctafunctional spherosilicates were used to prepare self‐healing hybrid materials. The hydrosilation of the octakis(hydridodimethylsiloxy)‐substituted spherosilicate with furfuryl allyl ether generates an inorganic nano‐building‐block that is used to formulate various self‐healing hybrid materials based on a reversible Diels–Alder reaction. Curing with a molecular bismaleimide results in a hard, glassy but reversibly cross‐linkable hybrid material. The reversibility of the curing mechanism allows the preparation of films with a heated press, which also opens the possibility to process the materials by injection molding. Substitution of the molecular cross‐linker with an oligomeric poly(dimethylsiloxane) bismaleimide results in an elastomeric material. The kinetics of the Diels–Alder reaction upon cooling after a retro‐Diels–Alder reaction are mainly controlled by the mobility of the cross‐linker within the system.