Solvent-assisted programming of flat polymer sheets into reconfigurable and self-healing 3D structures

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04257-x
• Publication Date: 2018-05-09T09:50:32Z
• Authors: Yang Yang; Eugene M. Terentjev; Yen Wei; Yan Ji
• Keywords: Molding (decorative)

It is extremely challenging, yet critically desirable to convert 2D plastic films into 3D structures without any assisting equipment. Taking the advantage of solvent-induced bond-exchange reaction and elastic-plastic transition, shape programming flat vitrimer polymer sheets offers a new way obtain or topologies, which are hard for traditional molding achieve. Here we show that such can be achieved with pipette, hair dryer, bottle solvent. The used here very similar commercial epoxy, except small percentage specific catalyst involved facilitate reaction. programmed later erased, reprogrammed, welded others, healed again again, using same solvent-assisted technique. also recycled by hot-pressing sheets, still repeatedly programmed.