Self-healing polymer networks which employ metal-ligand coordination bonds have received significant attention in recent years because they exhibit a broad tunabilty of mechanical properties and low moisture sensitivity. Furthermore, homogeneously placed in the structure transition metal atoms may have a strong impact on many other important functions of a polymer such as optical, dielectric, catalytic, free volume, gas transport etc. Inspired by the propensity of histidine to coordinate metals in biological systems (e.g. in metalloproteins, or mussel adhesion), imidazole groups have been used to create functional metal-containing polymers. The latter can be particularly attractive as healable materials as polymeric materials strive to increase the durability and sustainability. The incorporation of imidazole functionalities as the sole crosslink in network remains elusive. Thiol-ene networks are excellent candidates for imidazole incorporation thanks to the facile reaction conditions. Here, we investigated multifunctional thiol-ene networks where metal-imidazole serve as physical crosslinks. These crosslinks can serve on their own or be supplemented by chemical crosslinks. We also investigated the formation of linear metallosupramolecular polymers held together by metal-imidazole complexes. To that end, ethanedithiol was monofunctionalized with vinyl imidazole and underwent a subsequent metal coordination. This metal modified monomer was reacted with a diene to form a linear thiol-ene chain. The resulting polymers (network or linear) were investigated with and without metal via DSC, DMTA, BDS and PALS to probe various properties. The free hole volume of the polymer was seen to decrease with the incorporation of the metal, while the T<sub>g</sub> of the polymer increased. The mechanical properties of the polymer were improved with the incorporation of the metal-imidazole crosslink, leading to an encouraging new self-healable membrane for a variety of application such as gas separation.

Understanding the incorporation of transition metals into imidazole modified thiol-ene networks for improved self-healing and other functional advancements

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.