LAUSR

Transparent soft materials have been widely used in applications ranging from packaging to flexible displays, wearable devices, and optical lenses. Nevertheless, soft materials are susceptible to mechanical damages, leading to functional failure and premature disposal. Herein, we introduce a transparent self-healing elastomer that is able to repair the polymer network via exchange reactions of dynamic disulfide bonds. Due to its self-healing ability, the mechanical properties of the elastomer can be recovered, as well as its transparency after multiple cycles of abrasion and healing. The self-healing polymer is fabricated into three-dimensional (3D) structures by folding or modular origami assembly of planar self-healing polymer sheets. The 3D polymer objects are employed as storage containers of solid and liquid substances, reactors for photopolymerization, and cuvettes for optical measurements (exhibiting superior properties to those of commercial cuvettes). These dynamic polymers show outstanding mechanical, optical, and recycling properties that could potentially be further adapted in adaptive smart packaging, reconfigurable materials, optical devices, and recycling of elastomers. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.