Self-healing polymers and mechanochemistry

The forces that accompany macroscopic deformation and material failure are many orders of magnitude larger than the forces between the individual atoms of a molecule. The magnitude of macroscopic forces, in combination with the fact that they are directional, creates an opportunity to direct new, stress-responsive chemistry on demand in polymer materials. This talk will present studies of reactions under large, directional forces, and their applications in new classes of stress-responsive polymers, including a class of self-healing polymers in which mechanical activation of chemical reactions leads to improved structure and properties under conditions that are typically destructive to both.