Lipoic acid-based vitrimer-like elastomer.

Dynamic covalent networks (DCNs) are materials that feature reversible bond formation and breaking, allowing for self-healing and recyclability. To speed up the bond exchange, significant amounts of catalyst are used, which creates safety concerns. To tackle this issue, we report the synthesis of a lipoic acid-based vitrimer-like elastomer (LAVE) by combining (i) ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactones, (ii) lipoic acid modification of polylactones, and (iii) UV crosslinking.

Biobased Photopolymer Resin for 3D Printing Containing Dynamic Imine Bonds for Fast Reprocessability.

Acrylic photopolymer resins are widely used in stereolithographic 3D printing. However, the growing demand for such thermosetting resins is weighing on global issues such as waste management and fossil fuel consumption. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for reactive components that are biobased and enable recyclability of the resulting thermoset products.

Scalable and Degradable Dextrin-Based Elastomers for Wearable Touch Sensing.

Elastomer-based wearables can improve people's lives; however, frictional wear caused by manipulation may pose significant concerns regarding their durability and sustainability. To address the aforementioned issue, a new class of advanced scalable supersoft elastic transparent material (ASSETm) is reported, which offers a unique combination of scalability (20 g scale), stretchability (up to 235%), and enzymatic degradability (up to 65% in 30 days). The key feature of our design is to render native dextrin hydrophobic, which turns it into a macroinitiator for bulk ring-opening polymerization.

Robust Superamphiphilic Membrane with a Closed-Loop Life Cycle.

Oil-spill remediation is an international environmental challenge, and superamphiphilic membranes, as a promising solution, have recently drawn lots of attention. However, the robustness of the conventional membrane design is less satisfying under severe conditions during practical applications. Additionally, it is unavoidable for the membranes to face a series of foulants in their practical working environment, for example, algae and sand.

Hydrogels with a Memory: Dual-Responsive, Organometallic Poly(ionic liquid)s with Hysteretic Volume-Phase Transition.

We report on the synthesis and structure-property relations of a novel, dual-responsive organometallic poly(ionic liquid) (PIL), consisting of a poly(ferrocenylsilane) backbone of alternating redox-active, silane-bridged ferrocene units and tetraalkylphosphonium sulfonate moieties in the side groups. This PIL is redox responsive due to the presence of ferrocene in the backbone and also exhibits a lower critical solution temperature (LCST)-type thermal responsive behavior. The LCST phase transition originates from the interaction between water molecules and the ionic substituents and shows a concentration-dependent, tunable transition temperature in aqueous solution.