Abstract
Self-healing ability of materials, particularly polymers, improves their functional stabilities and lifespan. To date, the designs for self-healable polymers have relied on specific intermolecular interactions or chemistries. We report a design methodology for self-healable polymers based on glass transition. Statistical copolymer series of two monomers with different glass transition temperatures (T(g)) were synthesized, and their self-healing tendency depends on the T(g) of the copolymers and the constituents. Self-healing occurs more efficiently when the difference in T(g) between two monomer units is larger, within a narrow T(g) range of the copolymers, irrespective of their functional groups. The self-healable copolymers are elastomeric and nonpolar. The strategy to graft glass transition onto self-healing would expand the scope of polymer design.