Hideyuki Otsuka

Stress evaluation in polymeric materials is important in order to not only spot danger in them before serious failure, but also precisely interpret the destructive mechanism, which can improve the lifetime and durability of polymeric materials. Here, we are able to visualize stress by color changes, as well as quantitatively estimate the stress in situ, in segmented polyurethane elastomers with diarylbibenzofuranone-based dynamic covalent mechanophores. We prepared films of the segmented polyure

A novel polymer hybridization method, "polymer scrambling", was developed on the basis of the macromolecular radical crossover reaction between the main chains of dynamic covalent polymers. The macromolecular crossover reaction was successfully monitored by GPC and NMR measurements. The present methodology is innovative for the preparation of novel polymer hybrid materials at the nanometer scale.

The development of a multicolor mechanochromic polymer/silica composite is achieved by using two distinct types of mechanochromophores. The multicolor mechanochromism of the composite containing diarylbibenzofuranone in silica-rich domains and naphthopyran in the polymer-rich domain is observed. The obtained composite shows blue, green, and orange colors according to the intensity of applied mechanical stimuli, solvent addition, and lapse of time. This unique multicolor mechanochromic behavior i

This communication reports on the design and synthesis of mechanochromophores with a dynamic covalent system composed of a tetraarylsuccinonitrile skeleton that generate a metastable organic luminescent carbon radical. The mechanically generated radical species showed pink color and yellow light emission under UV irradiation. Unusually high stability of the luminescent carbon-centered radicals was also observed in a polymer system.

Mechanochromic elastomers that exhibit force-induced cross-linking reactions in the bulk state are introduced. The synthesis of segmented polyurethanes (SPUs) that contain difluorenylsuccinonitrile (DFSN) moieties in the main chain and methacryloyl groups in the side chains was carried out. DFSN was selected as the mechanophore because it dissociates under mechanical stimuli to form pink cyanofluorene (CF) radicals, which can also initiate the radical polymerization of methacrylate monomers. The

Intrinsically exchangeable dynamic covalent bonds that can be triggered by readily usable stimuli offer easy incorporation of their dynamic properties in various molecular systems, but the library of such bonds is still being developed. Herein, we report the dynamic covalent chemistry of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-sulfanyl (TEMPS) dimers derived from thermally reversible homolytic dissociation of disulfide linkages. High air stability of TEMPS was observed even at 100 °C, affording facile e

Mit Diarylbibenzofuranon-Einheiten quervernetzte Polymere wurden durch Polyaddition synthetisiert. Der Bindungsaustausch der Gele und ihre makroskopische Selbstheilung wurden an Luft bei Raumtemperatur im Dunkeln erreicht. Die makroskopische Verbindung komplett getrennter Teile war erfolgreich (siehe Bild).

Dynamic covalent polymers incorporating thermally reversible alkoxyamine units in the main chain were synthesized, and their thermal structural reorganization behavior was systematically investigated. The model reaction using alkoxyamine derivatives clearly revealed that the exchange reaction between the derivatives occurred upon heating over 60 °C, and the degree of exchange strongly depended on the reaction temperature, time, and concentration. Polycondensation from alkoxyamine-based diol and

Mechanochromic polymers, which react to mechanical force by changing color, are expected to find applications in smart materials such as damage sensors. Although numerous types of mechanochromic polymers have been reported so far, developing mechanochromic polymers that can recognize different mechanical stimuli remains a formidable challenge. Materials that not only change their color in response to a mechanical stimulus but also detect its nature should be of great importance for practical app

Crosslinked polymers (CLPs) exhibit exceptional mechanical properties as well as good chemical and solvent resistance. However, their reprocessing, recycling, and modification remain difficult. One promising approach to overcome this limitation is to introduce dynamic covalent bonds that enable chain-exchange reactions and network-structure rearrangements in identical polymer networks (A-A fusion), resulting in self-healing and reprocessing properties. Reported here is the fusion of two distinct

A dynamic covalent polymer incorporating thermally alkoxyamine units in the main chain was synthesized. Due to a radical crossover reaction between the alkoxyamine units, an interchange of the main chains in poly(alkoxyamine ester) was observed on heating.

Mechanochromic polymers, that is, polymers sensitive to mechanical impact, promise great potential for applications in damage sensors. In particular, radical-type mechanochromic polymers, which produce colored radical species in response to mechanical stress, may enable not only the visualization of mechanical stress, but also its quantitative evaluation by electron paramagnetic resonance analysis. Herein, a radical-type mechanochromic polymer that exhibits a color change from white to green upo