Visualized bond scission in mechanically activated polymers

Abstract

Visualization and quantitative evaluation of covalent bond scission in polymeric materials are critical in understanding their failure mechanisms and improving the toughness and reliability of the materials. Mechano-responsive polymers with the ability of molecular-level transduction of force into chromism and luminescence have evoked major interest and experienced significant progress. In the current review, we highlight the recent achievements in covalent mechanochromic and mechanoluminescent polymers, leading to a bridge between macroscopic mechanical properties and microscopic bond scission events. After a general introduction concerning polymer mechanochemistry, various examples that illustrate the strategies of design and incorporation of functional and weak covalent bonds in polymers were presented, the mechanisms underlying the optical phenomenon were introduced and their potential applications as stress sensors were discussed. This review concludes with a comment on the opportunities and challenges of the field.