Issue 39, 2021

Long-chain polyamide covalent adaptable networks based on renewable ethylene brassylate and disulfide exchange

Abstract

Conventional thermosets cannot be recycled once they reach their end-of-life creating unavoidable waste. Covalent adaptable networks (CANs) are a promising circular solution as they can be reprocessed by conventional techniques employed for processing thermoplastics. In this work, strong and chemically resistant, long-chain polyamide (PA) CANs were developed by introducing intrinsically reactive disulfides in PA networks. Following a solvent-free strategy and utilizing ethylene brassylate, a renewable cyclic diester, our approach brings together the high strength and chemical resistance of long-chain, crosslinked PAs with the reprocessability of dynamic networks in a sustainable fashion. The structure of the PA CANs was elucidated by X-ray diffraction analysis, and the effect of the disulfides on the thermal, mechanical, viscoelastic and dynamic properties was evaluated. The PA CANs had high gel content (86–98%) and they were reprocessable over three grinding-compression molding cycles, retaining their strength (15–20 MPa), crosslink density and gel content. They exhibited rapid stress relaxation with relaxation times as low as 1.06 s and were healable within 5 min. The long-chain PA CANs are easy to prepare and feature several elements of sustainable materials design, highly valued in plastics’ circular economy.

Graphical abstract: Long-chain polyamide covalent adaptable networks based on renewable ethylene brassylate and disulfide exchange

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 jún. 2021
Accepted
17 sep. 2021
First published
23 sep. 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Polym. Chem., 2021,12, 5668-5678

Long-chain polyamide covalent adaptable networks based on renewable ethylene brassylate and disulfide exchange

C. Pronoitis, M. Hakkarainen and K. Odelius, Polym. Chem., 2021, 12, 5668 DOI: 10.1039/D1PY00811K

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