Covalent Adaptable Networks with Mobile Cross‐linking Points

Covalent adaptable networks (CANs) have garnered increasing attention for their potential in sustainable materials. However, their material properties remain limited by interrelated challenges, particularly the need to ensure ease of processing while maintaining excellent mechanical performance. Herein, we report a class of polyrotaxane-based CANs (<sup>PR</sup>CANs) in which an axle containing dynamic boronic ester bonds is mechanically interlocked with two polymer chains, forming mobile dynamic cross-linking points. The mobile dynamic covalent bond cross-linking points simultaneously improve the mechanical performance of CANs while reducing the processing temperature. Under applied force, sliding occurs at both ends of the cross-linking points, creating an efficient pathway for energy dissipation. The representative <sup>PR</sup>CAN exhibits enhanced mechanical performance, showing twice the elongation at break (1160 % versus 570 %) and tensile strength (11.0 versus 4.6 MPa), and over four times the toughness (43.7 versus 10.1 MJ m<sup>-3</sup>) relative to the control with fixed dynamic covalent bond cross-linking points. At high temperatures, the mobility of the cross-linking points enhances the reaction probability for dynamic covalent bonds, thereby effectively reducing the processing temperature of CANs. The representative <sup>PR</sup>CAN can be processed at 110 °C for 10 min, whereas the control sample requires 140 °C for 30 min to reach a comparable reprocessing level.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2025-12-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202519906
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Polymer composites and self-healing
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.61
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article

Covalent Adaptable Networks with Mobile Cross‐linking Points

Xuzhou Yan, Zhiwei Fan, Ruixue Bai, Shaolei Qu et al.
1 citations
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Polymer composites and self-healing
0.61
article

Covalent Adaptable Networks with Mobile Cross‐linking Points

Xuzhou Yan, Zhiwei Fan, Ruixue Bai, Shaolei Qu, Zhaoming Zhang, Yuanhao Wang, Wei Yu, Lin Cheng, Mengling Yang, Wenbin Wang, Li Yang
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Covalent adaptable networks (CANs) have garnered increasing attention for their potential in sustainable materials. However, their material properties remain limited by interrelated challenges, particularly the need to ensure ease of processing while maintaining excellent mechanical performance. Herein, we report a class of polyrotaxane-based CANs (<sup>PR</sup>CANs) in which an axle containing dynamic boronic ester bonds is mechanically interlocked with two polymer chains, forming mobile dynamic cross-linking points. The mobile dynamic covalent bond cross-linking points simultaneously improve the mechanical performance of CANs while reducing the processing temperature. Under applied force, sliding occurs at both ends of the cross-linking points, creating an efficient pathway for energy dissipation. The representative <sup>PR</sup>CAN exhibits enhanced mechanical performance, showing twice the elongation at break (1160 % versus 570 %) and tensile strength (11.0 versus 4.6 MPa), and over four times the toughness (43.7 versus 10.1 MJ m<sup>-3</sup>) relative to the control with fixed dynamic covalent bond cross-linking points. At high temperatures, the mobility of the cross-linking points enhances the reaction probability for dynamic covalent bonds, thereby effectively reducing the processing temperature of CANs. The representative <sup>PR</sup>CAN can be processed at 110 °C for 10 min, whereas the control sample requires 140 °C for 30 min to reach a comparable reprocessing level.

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVol. 65(6)
Chemical Synthesis Lab (SG)
Openalex Percentile: Top 27%
Polymer composites and self-healing
0.61
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