Bio-Based Self-Healing Polymeric Materials Derived from Furfuryl Alcohol Based on the Diels-Alder Reversible Reaction

Abstract To increase the range of applications of bio-based polymer materials by attributing them self-healing ability is an efficacious way. It is an effective method to use Diels-Alder reaction for self-healing. However, self-healing materials synthesized by multifunctional monomers with Diels-Alder groups possess a low use temperature due to reversibility of DA bonds. In this study, the branched poly(furfuryl methacrylate) was synthesized from furfuryl alcohol, which is a biobased raw material prepared from crops. Using poly(furfuryl methacrylate) and bismaleimide, biobased self-healing polymeric materials were synthesized successfully based on the Diels-Alder reversible reaction. The Diels-Alder direct and reverse reactions occurred upon heating, resulting in self-healing of cracks on the polymer coatings. The thermal stability and use temperature of materials were also improved. All results demonstrated that synthesized materials possessed the characteristics of thermo-reversibility and self-healing and held great potential for self-healing coating applications.