In Situ Self-Polymerization Strategy Toward Intrinsic Autonomous Self-Healing Materials

Achieving spontaneous contact of damaged interfaces under stimulus-free conditions is a prerequisite and major challenge for intrinsic autonomous self-healing polymers. This study presents an intrinsic self-healing polymer system based on polythioctic acid. Under alkaline conditions, its segments transition from an opaque semicrystalline state to a transparent elastomer with high mobility, enabling spontaneous contact and repair of fractured scratch surfaces. When subjected to damage, the material demonstrates self-healing anticorrosion performance, with the impedance magnitude of the scratched coating at 0.01 Hz increasing from 2.3 × 10 5 Ω·cm 2 at 0 h to 1.4 × 10 7 Ω·cm 2 after 120 h of exposure to 3.5 wt% NaCl without any external stimulus. Furthermore, the material demonstrates outstanding sustainability in terms of recyclability under mild conditions after its service life. This smart polymer design strategy provides a feasible approach for developing intrinsic self-healing polymer systems requiring no external intervention.