The self-healing potential of triazole-pyridine-based metallopolymers.

The development of artificial self-healing materials represents an emerging and challenging field in material science. Inspired by nature-for instance by the self-healing of mussel byssus threads-metallopolymers gain more and more attention as attractive self-healing materials. These compounds are able to combine the properties of both polymers and metal-ligand interactions. A novel metallopolymer is developed consisting of attached bidentate triazole-pyridine (TRZ-py) ligands and a low glass transition temperature (T g ) lauryl methacrylate backbone. The polymer is cross-linked with different Fe(II) and Co(II) salts. The resulting materials exhibit promising self-healing performance within time intervals of 5.5 to 26.5 h at moderate temperatures of 50 to 100 °C. The materials are characterized by X-ray scattering (SAXS), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and light microscopy.