Development of remendable materials with Diels-Alder chemistry

Materials with the ability to mend themselves represent a desirable alternative to traditional materials and offer increased service lives, cost-efficiency, and safety. The reversible Diels-Alder reaction of a furan with a maleimide is an ideal reaction for imparting healing functionality in a system. At room temperature the Diels-Alder adduct is formed spontaneously and above 90°C the adduct breaks apart to reform the original furan and maleimide moieties. This paper reports on the development of a furan-functionalized thermoset with tunable glass transition temperature. A glass-reinforced composite of maleimide-sized glass within this network will demonstrate healing of interfacial failure, and consequently, extension of fatigue life.