Tensile, compressive, flexural, torsional and impact properties of vitrimer

Vitrimers behave like traditional thermosets with good thermal and mechanical properties at service temperature, combined with thermoplastic behaviors above a specific temperature due to their dynamic cross-linked networks. However, there is a lack of effort in studying the mechanical properties of existing vitrimers, which are important for applying them in practical applications. The objective of this work is to experimentally investigate the tensile, compressive, flexural, torsional, and impact properties of a widely studied epoxy-based vitrimer through the various tests: tensile test, compressive test, three-point bending test, torsional test, and pendulum impact test. Since the vitrimer has the same chemical composition as conventional epoxy, all the mechanical tests mentioned above are also conducted on the epoxy for comparison. The results show that the vitrimer is comparable to the epoxy in tensile, compressive, flexural, and torsional properties, while its impact strength is substantially improved. Finally, the thermoplastic behaviors (i.e., reprocessing, recycling, reshaping) of the vitrimer are also studied.