Fabricating robust natural rubber composites with photothermal conversion and near-infrared light-actuated remote-controlled accurate self-healing

Multifunctional and easily-controlled self-healing rubbers with high performance are booming and have great potential in a wide range of applications. In this paper, natural rubber/zinc dimethacrylate/carbon nanotube (NR/ZDMA/CNT) composites with satisfactory mechanical strength, photothermal conversion and accurate self- healing were developed. CNC is used to assist the dispersion of CNT into NR and ZDMA is generated in situ reaction of ZnO and MAA. The self-healing capacity of the composites is realized through ionic supramolecular network constructed by regulating the DCP-induced vulcanization of NR/ZDMA. The compatibility between CNT and NR matrix is enhanced by establishing non-covalent interactions through ionic clusters of the supramolecular network, thus, the mechanical properties of composites are significantly improved. As a result, the tensile strength of NR/ZDMA/CNT-7 reaches-7.8 MPa, and it can recover tensile strength of-65% at room temper- ature. The photothermal effect of CNT can effectively promote the self-healing process, and also endow the composites with NIR-actuated accurate self-healing. After activated by NIR laser for 60 min, the healing effi- ciency of NR/ZDMA/CNT-7 can reach 90%. Furthermore, the composites have great potential application in thermoelectric conversion. Therefore, this kind of high-performance self-healing rubber with photothermal conversion and accurate self-healing has broader application prospect in various scenarios.