Evaluation of optical and self-healing properties of Titania/ionic liquid/poly(butyl methacrylate) hybrid material based on thermally reversible Diels–Alder chemistry

ABSTRACT

In this study, we report the development of a hybrid polymer material comprising poly(butyl methacrylate) and titania, which exhibits the three key elements of visible-light transparency, UV shielding, and self-healing. Nanodispersion of titania in the polymers was achieved using the sol – gel method using titanium propoxide as the raw material. Furthermore, by adding tetrabutylphosphonium chloride, an ionic liquid, we suppressed visible light absorption due to charge transfer between poly(butyl methacrylate) and titania, resulting in enhanced visible light transmittance. An approach involving crosslinking points comprising Diels – Alder functional groups was used to heal scratches in the hybrid material at 75°C for 30 min. Dynamic viscoelastic measurements and microscopic observations were conducted to investigate the self-healing mechanism. These findings suggested that this phenomenon occurred through the fluidization of the polymer matrix and the recombination reaction of the crosslinking points, which comprise Diels – Alder and titania. The development of intelligent materials with combined transparency, UV protection, and self-healing capabilities provides potential avenues for future research to enhance and broaden their versatile characteristics for widespread applications.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Self-healing
• sol-gel
• hybrid materials
• cording

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Conceptualization, S.H.; methodology, M.I.; investigation, A.F.writing – original draft preparation, S.H.; writing – review and editing, S.H.; supervision, S.S. and T.T.; project administration, H.I.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09276440.2024.2346672

Notes

1. Tetrabutylphosphonium chloride (TBPC); Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA); Butyl methacrylate (BMA); Tert-butoxycarbonyl (BOC); DMA.