Many natural biopolymers not only have advanced mechanical properties such as high modulus, toughness, and elasticity, but also exhibit dynamic properties. Inspired by Nature, we have designed a series of biomimetic modular polymers with folded nano-domains as the repeat units. These new material manifest an exciting combination of key mechanical, as well as adaptive, properties that have until now proven difficult to achieve in man-made systems. Single molecule force was used to correlate the exceptional mechanical properties with their molecular structures. Recently, we developed an exciting biomimetic concept for designing stiff and spontaneous self-healing polymers. In contrast to previous designs, our system spontaneously self-heals as a single-component solid at ambient conditions without the need of any external stimulus, healing agent, plasticizer, or solvent.   In this presentation, I will discuss the design, synthesis, and single molecule and macroscopic property studies of our biomimetic dynamic polymers, including stiff and autonomic self-healing systems.

Biomimetic design of dynamic and self-healing polymers

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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