Hydrogen bonding derived self-healing polymer composites reinforced with amidation carbon fibers.

Amidation carbon fiber (CF) reinforced self-healing polymer composites (HAN-CF) were designed by hydrogen bonding interaction between functionalized CF and hyperbranched polymer. By introducing functionalized CF, composites exhibit many desirable characteristics compared to the original polymers, such as better elasticity, lower healing temperatures, higher self-healing efficiency. FT-IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric testing were used to characterize the CFs obtained by one-step amidation. The mechanical and self-healing properties of HAN-CF were explored through stress-strain and SEM testing. A small amount of modified amidation carbon fibers (7 wt%) was found to improve the tensile strength, Young's modulus and self-healing efficiency of the composites. The self-healing efficiency of the HAN-CF reached 100% of the original tensile strength at room temperature for 60 min. It can be restored to more than 80% of the original mechanical strength at 30 °C for 20 min. After ten repair cycles, the self-healing efficiency of the HAN-CF is still 100%.