Double dynamic self‐healing polymers: supramolecular and covalent dynamic polymers based on the bis‐iminocarbohydrazide motif

Self‐healing polymers are a class of functional polymers that, by the virtue of the presence of certain dynamic chemical linkages, may undergo self‐repair at a mechanically cut surface. Herein we report the synthesis of a self‐healing polymer giving access to double dynamicity within the polymer network by making use simultaneously of reversible covalent bonds and dynamic non‐covalent hydrogen bonding interactions. These features are provided, respectively, by doubly dynamic cassettes comprising chemically reversible imine linkages and multiply hydrogen‐bonded urea groups, connected by a siloxane‐based backbone that imparts softness to the material. Such a system can be envisaged to give access to a broad spectrum of functional materials, which can be tuned by convenient modulation of the structural motifs of the polymer. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry