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Rapid stress relaxation and degradable aromatic disulfide vitrimer for recyclable carbon fiber reinforced composite

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Abstract

Carbon fiber thermoset composites pose significant challenges due to their inability to be reprocessed and the difficulties in recycling carbon fibers. Vitrimer materials with reversible dynamic covalent bonding offer a promising solution for the degradation of thermosetting resins and the recycling of carbon fibers. However, their practical application is limited by inability to quickly release stresses from deformation and long degradation times. To address these limitations, this study presents a novel vitrimer material based on free amine-catalyzed aromatic dynamic disulfide exchange. The dynamic disulfide exchange network, catalyzed by free amines, exhibits rapid stress relaxation, with a relaxation time of only 14 s at 180 °C. This exceptional dynamic exchange capability grants the vitrimer material outstanding self-healing properties, shape memory functionality, and recycling performance. Moreover, the higher concentration of disulfide bonds and the generation of small molecules increase the susceptibility of the crosslinked network to thiol degradation, resulting in resin degradation within 5 h. Additionally, this research successfully applies the vitrimer material as a matrix to prepare carbon fiber composites with exceptional mechanical properties. Furthermore, by degrading the resin matrix, effective recycling of carbon fibers is achieved, contributing to sustainable practices in the automotive and aerospace industries.

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Data for the study is available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 52075526], the “Ningbo 3315 Plan Innovation Team” [grant number 2017A-28-C], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 91860204], the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [grant number DUT22-LAB605], the National Key Research and Development Program [grant number 2018YFB1107500], and the financial support from National Young Talents Program of China.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, 52075526, Jian Xu, 91860204, Xigao Jian, Ningbo 3315 Plan Innovation Team, 2017A-28-C, Jian Xu, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, DUT22-LAB605, Xigao Jian, National Key Research and Development Program, 2018YFB1107500, Jian Xu.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontiers Science Center for Smart Materials Oriented Chemical Engineering, Department of Polymer Science and Materials, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Qinghua Zhang, Mingzhuan Li, Peifeng Feng, Luoli Meng, Xigao Jian & Jian Xu

  2. Engineering Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, 315201, China

    Qinghua Zhang, Mingzhuan Li, Peifeng Feng & Jian Xu

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  1. Qinghua Zhang
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  2. Mingzhuan Li
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  3. Peifeng Feng
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  4. Luoli Meng
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  5. Xigao Jian
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  6. Jian Xu
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Contributions

Qinghua Zhang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Visualization, Writing—Original draft preparation, Writing – Review & Editing. Mingzhuan Li: Visualization, Investigation. Peifeng Feng: Investigation, Methodology. Luoli Meng: Investigation, Methodology. Xigao Jian: Funding Acquisition, Supervision. Jian Xu (Corresponding Author): Conceptualization, Methodology, Funding Acquisition, Resources, Supervision, Writing—Review & Editing.

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Correspondence to Jian Xu.

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Zhang, Q., Li, M., Feng, P. et al. Rapid stress relaxation and degradable aromatic disulfide vitrimer for recyclable carbon fiber reinforced composite. J Polym Res 31, 87 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-024-03939-z

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