Plant Oil-Based Supramolecular Polymer Networks and Composites for Debonding-On-Demand Adhesives

The stimuli responsiveness of supramolecular polymers has recently been exploited for the development of adhesives that can be (de)bonded on demand when heated or exposed to UV light. However, it remains difficult to combine competitive solid-state mechanical properties and very low melt viscosity in one material. Here we report a new supramolecular polymer adhesives platform based on soybean oil as a multifunctional low-molecular-weight monomer (∼1500 g/mol) and isophthalic acid (IPA) groups that show hydrogen bonding and promote the formation of a reversible network. The polarity difference between the triglyceride backbone and the IPA groups leads to microphase separation, and the crystalline IPA domains act as physical cross-links. Heating the polymer above the melting temperature of the IPA-rich domains results in a dramatic viscosity reduction to 8 Pa·s at 120 °C. Once cooled to room temperature, the material properties are fully recovered as a result of the reassembly of the supramolecular network....