Abstract
Stimuli-responsive polymer materials have a promising potential application in many areas. However, integrating multi-stimuli into one elastomer is still a challenge. Here, we utilized boronic esters and anthracene to prepare a cross-linked poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene) (SBS) which was endowed with responsiveness to three stimuli (light, heat, and alcohols). SBS was first functionalized with a certain amount of dihydroxyl groups via a thiol-ene “click” reaction between unsaturated double bonds in PB block and thioglycerol. Then, 9-anthraceneboronic acid was applied to form a cross-linked SBS network upon heat and ultraviolet radiation (λ = 365 nm). The prepared elastomer was demonstrated to be stimuli-responsive based on the dynamic nature of boronic esters and the reversible dimerization of anthracene. In addition, the mechanical properties of the elastomer could be regulated continuously owing to the stimulus responsiveness to ultraviolet or heat.
Highlights
Stimuli-responsive polymer materials are in a class of “smart” materials which could respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, pH, chemicals, stress, light, electricity, magnetism, etc. [1–4]
It is believed that anthracene is ideal for preparing stimuli-responsive polymers attributed to its light and temperature responsiveness
Aiming to fabricate a stimuli-responsive polymer material with excellent mechanical properties, commercial SBS was selected as the polymeric matrix
Summary
Stimuli-responsive polymer materials are in a class of “smart” materials which could respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, pH, chemicals, stress, light, electricity, magnetism, etc. [1–4]. The light, especially, has excellent properties, including environmental protection, remote control, and instantaneity The interest in these materials has increased yearly due to their promising potential applications in catalysis, tissue engineering, biosensors, and drug delivery [8–12]. The solvent resistance, thermal stability, and elastic resilience of SBS were found to be poor, resulting from physical cross-links which are unfavorable for chemical- or temperature-responsive polymers. When the cross-links were boronic esters, the network could be adapted to a new one upon heat. To obtain the desired cross-linked SBS, boronic esters were incorporated to construct CANs, and anthracene was referred for its light and heat responsiveness. It was anticipant that the designed stimuli-responsive elastomer would render interesting properties that could have potential applications in smart polymeric materials. All other reagents were commercial chemicals and used as received, without further purification
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