Xiao
Yang
a,
Dianteng
Zhao
a,
Yichen
Huang
a,
Xinyun
Li
*b,
Bo
Zheng
*a and
Lingyan
Gao
*a
aKey Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, Shaanxi, P. R. China. E-mail: zhengbo@nwu.edu.cn; gaolingyan@nwu.edu.cn
bCollege of Rehabilitation, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China. E-mail: lxyjasmine2010@163.com
First published on 12th June 2025
Much attention has been paid to the fabrication of advanced materials to solve the global plastic pollution crisis. This study developed a sustainable coating material, Poly(TA-DES-Cu), a thioctic acid-based covalent adaptable network (CAN). The synergistic noncovalent interactions of Cu2+–carboxyl coordination and DES-involved hydrogen bonding in Poly(TA-DES-Cu) endow the elastomer with good mechanical properties (1808% fracture strain and 7.92 MJ m−3 toughness), self-healing capability (25–60 °C, >80% stress recovery after 10 cycles), interfacial adhesion (2.52 MPa on steel) and recyclability. In particular, the cooperative dynamic noncovalent interactions and molecular chain slippage enable efficient energy dissipation and puncture resistance (11.42 mJ), leading to its further application as a coating material. After coating on nonwoven fabrics, it not only enhances the mechanical performance but also leads to broad-spectrum antibacterial activity of the resulting composite material. This strategy provides a novel approach for designing sustainable intelligent polymer materials.
Poly(disulfide)s (PolyTAs) made from thioctic acid (TA), a natural, renewable raw ingredient, featuring disulfide (S–S) bonds have emerged as a new class of eco-friendly polymers.21 It has been found that PolyTAs can undergo efficient depolymerization and repolymerization, due to the reversible opening and closing of cyclic dynamic S–S bonds under mild stimuli—such as heat, light, or redox conditions.22–27 In recent years, PolyTAs have made remarkable progress in the fabrication of versatile materials, such as sustainable materials with high performance, antibacterial materials, adhesives, and functional hydrogels.28–36 To enhance the reliability and extend the service life of sustainable polymers, different strategies have been employed to enhance the mechanical properties of PolyTA-based materials. The introduction of covalent cross-linking sites improves the mechanical properties of the resulting materials, but it also weakens their recyclability.37,38 The incorporation of reversible and dynamic supramolecular interactions can lead to enhanced mechanical performance without impairing the recyclability. Therefore, the integration of dynamic covalent bonds and reversible noncovalent interactions into polymeric networks can be a promising approach for constructing materials with compatible excellent mechanical performance and facile recyclable properties.
In view of TA's molecular structure, apart from the dynamic covalent disulfide bond, the carboxyl motif also plays important roles, as it not only serves as an active site for metal coordination but also strengthens network stability via hydrogen bonding.21,29,32,34,39–44 The synergistic combination of dynamic covalent bonds and multiple supramolecular interactions should reinforce the mechanical performance of TA-based CANs.33,34,36 Hence, in this work, we use noncovalent interactions (coordinate bonds and hydrogen bonds) and dynamic disulfide bonds synergistically to build a mechanically robust but dynamic polymer Poly(TA-DES-Cu). Specifically, a low-toxicity, biodegradable deep eutectic solvent (DES) is introduced into the CAN to further fabricate a hydrogen bond network besides the hydrogen bonds between carboxyl groups.45–47 Meanwhile, copper ions (Cu2+) are also integrated to build coordination networks, which show antibacterial properties.48 (1) The dynamic Cu2+–carboxyl coordination enhances both the mechanical performance and self-healing efficiency of Poly(TA-DES-Cu). (2) The hydroxyl/amine-rich functional groups in DESs exhibit dual functionalities, forming multiple hydrogen bond crosslinking sites within the polymer network to significantly enhance cohesive strength, while facilitating TA chain segment slippage to improve molecular mobility. (3) The synergistic effect of Cu2+ and DESs endows Poly(TA-DES-Cu) with enhanced and durable antibacterial properties and environmental stability. Furthermore, by coating Poly(TA-DES-Cu) onto nonwoven fabric surfaces, we successfully constructed multifunctional composite materials with enhanced mechanical performance and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, providing innovative solutions for medical dressings, smart textiles, and related fields.
Attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy analysis (Fig. 1c) shows a blue shift of the carbonyl (CO) stretching vibration peak from 1699 cm−1 (the carboxylic acid group in PolyTA) to 1703 cm−1 (Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) and Poly(TA-Cu8)) due to Cu2+–carboxyl coordination. Concurrently, the characteristic hydroxyl (–OH) vibration peak of DES at 3300 cm−1 disappeared completely in Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) and Poly(TA-DES10), indicating that noncovalent interactions emerged between DES and PolyTA. Further evidence emerged from the blue shift of DES's C–O stretching vibrations (originally at 1110–1200 cm−1) to 1140–1260 cm−1 in Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) and Poly(TA-DES10), a phenomenon absent in Poly(TA-Cu8), further validating the hydrogen bond interactions between DES and PolyTA. 1H NMR spectra (Fig. 1d) provided additional mechanistic insights: the carboxylic acid proton peak of PolyTA at 12.01 ppm shifts upfield to 11.71 ppm and becomes broader in Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8). The choline chloride and urea proton peaks of DES all exhibit an obvious shift in Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) (Fig. 1d), while the chemical shift change in Poly(TA-DES10) was relatively small (Fig. S1, ESI†). These observations collectively confirm the concurrent formation of hydrogen bonding networks and metal-coordination bonds within the composite system.
The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) show a dense and non-porous surface (Fig. S2, ESI†). Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was further employed to characterize elemental distribution, confirming the uniform distribution of characteristic elements, N and Cl (from DES) and Cu, throughout the entire layer. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results demonstrate that the glass transition temperatures (Tg) of Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) and Poly(TA-Cu8) were −28.61 °C and −31.38 °C, respectively, while no discernible Tg of Poly(TA-DES10) was observed (Fig. S3, ESI†). This is ascribed to the fact that the introduction of Cu2+ enhances network rigidity by increasing the crosslinking density of the CANs, whereas DES likely reduces the prominence of glass transition through enhanced chain segment mobility. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis (Fig. 1b) reveals that neither DES nor Cu2+ alone can suppress the crystallization of the PolyTA network. Only when both components are incorporated into the PolyTA network does the material exhibit amorphous characteristics, demonstrating that the synergistic crosslinking of dynamic coordination bonds and hydrogen bonds effectively disrupts polymer chain ordering. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data show that Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) exhibits good thermal stability with an initial decomposition temperature of 246 °C, significantly higher than those of Poly(TA-DES10) and Poly(TA-Cu8) (Fig. S4, ESI†).
The incorporation of Cu2+ showed a distinct reinforcement effect: as the Cu2+ content increases, the tensile strength, fracture strain, and Young's modulus of the material all exhibit an upward trend. However, beyond a critical threshold of 8 wt%, the fracture strain and toughness begin to decline (Fig. 2c and d). This is ascribed to the fact that Cu2+ leads to the formation of high-density coordination crosslinking in the polymer network, which enhances the material's stiffness, but it also restricts molecular chain slippage. Comprehensive experiments and analysis of tensile tests reveal that when the DES and Cu2+ contents are optimized to 10 wt% and 8 wt%, respectively, the material exhibits the best balance of mechanical properties, with a Young's modulus of 1.29 MPa, a toughness of 7.92 MJ m−3, a maximum tensile strength of 0.51 MPa, and a fracture strain of 1808%. Consequently, this sample (TA:
DES
:
CuSO4 = 100
:
10
:
8, mass ratio) was selected as the representative material for further investigation.
To further validate the critical roles of DES and Cu2+ in enhancing the mechanical properties of Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8), control PolyTA-based polymers containing solely DES (Poly(TA-DES10)) or CuSO4 (Poly(TA-Cu8)) were prepared. The tensile test demonstrates that both these control polymers show much worse mechanical performance compared to that of Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) (Fig. S5a, ESI†). Moreover, individual choline chloride or urea was employed as an additive into the PolyTA network. It was found that neither of these two components can inhibit the crystallization of poly(disulfide) (Fig. S5b, ESI†). These results confirm the synergistic enhancement mechanism arising from the concurrent incorporation of DES-mediated hydrogen bonding and Cu2+ coordination interactions in the composite system.
Through tensile/compression tests at varied strain rates, the rate-dependent mechanical behavior of Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) was systematically investigated. As shown in Fig. 3a and b, increasing the deformation rate from 10 mm min−1 to 500 mm min−1 leads to higher maximum tensile strength and Young's modulus, accompanied by a decrease in fracture strain. Compression tests also show this rate-dependent phenomenon. With increasing compression rates under constant strain, both compressive stress and energy dissipation demonstrate monotonic enhancement (Fig. 3c and d). Cyclic tensile tests were conducted to investigate the energy dissipation characteristics of the material. Energy dissipation was quantified by calculating the hysteresis loop area formed between the loading and unloading curves. The material exhibits significant strain accumulation within the 25–200% strain range, manifested by progressive expansion of the hysteresis loop area and gradual accumulation of residual strain with increasing cycle numbers (Fig. 3e). Furthermore, energy dissipation efficiency displays a positive correlation with the strain amplitude, with the quantitative relationship curve approximating a linear response (Fig. 3f). Under fixed 75% deformation, Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) maintains a stable hysteresis loop morphology through ten consecutive loading–unloading cycles, with a peak stress decay below 8% (Fig. S6a, ESI†), confirming its excellent structural integrity and energy dissipation capability. These results are attributed to the competitive relationship between the strain rate and the characteristic relaxation time of noncovalent bonds. Under low strain rates, dynamic bonds (hydrogen bonds and coordination bonds) within the polymer network effectively dissipate energy through continuous dissociation–recombination processes; when loading rates exceed the relaxation threshold of dynamic bonds, the polymer network loses its stress-release capability through bond reorganization and instead accumulates energy via elastic deformation. Remarkably, after experiencing 600% deformation, the material spontaneously recovered to its near-initial state within 30 min at ambient temperature (Fig. S6b, ESI†). This rapid self-recovery behavior originates from the reversible reconstruction of the dynamic noncovalent network.
The healing process was further evaluated with different healing times (0, 10, 20, and 30 min, respectively). It was found that as the healing time increases to 30 min, the material progressively recovers to its initial state (Fig. S7, ESI†). These results reveal that the self-healing efficiency of Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) is positively correlated with healing time and temperature. The possible reason for the good self-healing ability of Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) should be ascribed to the highly efficient reversible bonding behavior that originates from the dynamic covalent bonds and noncovalent bonds. Specifically, the synergistic reorganization of Cu2+–carboxyl coordination bonds, disulfide bonds, and hydrogen bonds in the interfacial region can form a multi-scale dynamic cross-linked network, enabling rapid healing of the interfacial surface. The increased temperature accelerates the mobility of the polymer chain, which further accelerates the reorganization of these three dynamic bonds and leads to the enhancement of the self-healing efficiency.21,49,50
A temperature-dependent rheological test also confirms the dynamic nature of the material and its recovery capability. During three consecutive heating–cooling cycles, the material demonstrated reversible recovery of both modulus and viscosity to their initial states (Fig. S8†). This superior healing performance arises from the multiple dynamic bonds. At elevated temperatures, both noncovalent bonds and dynamic covalent bonds at fracture interfaces are activated and establish multiple repair pathways that enhance healing efficiency.
The material also exhibits excellent reprocessability without solvents or complex procedures. Specifically, the fragmented material can be regenerated by hot-pressing at 80 °C for 20 min (Fig. 4d). Even after three reprocessing cycles, the material retains over 75% of the original stress while maintaining nearly 100% of its initial strain performance (Fig. 4e).
Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) exhibits excellent anti-puncture properties. Puncture experiments were performed using a 400 μm toothpick tip as the puncture tool (Fig. 5b). A maximum puncture displacement of 11.41 mm, a puncture energy dissipation of 11.42 mJ, and a peak puncture force of 2.41 N were achieved for Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) (Fig. 5c and d). This performance is speculated to arise from the dissociation–reorganization of Cu2+–carboxyl coordination bonds under external stress that effectively alleviates stress concentration at the puncture tip and chain slippage mediated by DES that continuously dissipates mechanical energy through viscoelastic deformation. The synergistic interaction between dynamic bond networks and molecular chain mobility enables significant enhancement of structural damage resistance while maintaining material flexibility.
The Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) coating can further improve the ductility of nonwoven fabrics, increasing the fracture strain from 76% to 93% (+122.4%). More importantly, the coating endows the nonwoven fabric with puncture resistance. The Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8)-coated nonwoven fabric shows a maximum displacement of 6.51 mm (+198.5%), a peak puncture force of 6.73 N (+131.7%), and a puncture energy dissipation capacity of 13.33 mJ (+127.5%). These improvements in the mechanical performance of the Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8)-coated nonwoven fabric stem from the energy dissipation mechanism of the dynamic noncovalent bonds of the Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) coating under external forces that effectively disperse stress concentration while maintaining the substrate's inherent flexibility.
Previous studies have confirmed the inherent antibacterial properties of PolyTA.34 As a result, we further investigated the antimicrobial efficacy of Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) coatings on titanium alloy and nonwoven fabric substrates. To systematically evaluate antibacterial performance, substrates coated with Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) were co-cultured with S. aureus, E. coli and P. aeruginosa in LB broth, with control groups containing pure TA, CuSO4, DES, and blank LB solution. The results demonstrated that even after 3 days of co-culturing, the Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8)-coated substrates exhibit over 96% antibacterial efficiency against all three bacterial strains (Fig. 6d–f). These findings not only confirm the significant antimicrobial enhancement imparted by the Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) coating but also reveal its exceptional broad-spectrum antibacterial activity across diverse bacterial species. Moreover, the enhanced tensile strength and puncture resistance of the non-woven fabric coated with Poly(TA-DES10-Cu8) may provide a new strategy for developing high-performance coatings in the area of technical textile materials.
Footnote |
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d5py00495k |
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2025 |