ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mater.
Sec. Polymeric and Composite Materials
Synthesis and induction heating-induced self-healing of epoxy vitrimer nanocomposites
Provisionally accepted
- 1Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, United States
- 2The Pennsylvania State University - University Park Campus, University Park, United States
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Epoxy vitrimers have attracted significant research attention due to their reprocessability, malleability, and potential self-healing capability. In this study, we successfully synthesized two vitrimers based on a bulky diepoxide monomer, 9,9-bis(4-glycidyloxyphenyl)fluorene (DGBPEF) and zinc catalysts. When DGBPEF reacted with flexible Pripol 1040, a soft vitrimer with a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 45 °C and a topology freezing transition temperature (Tv) of 207 °C was obtained. When DGBPEF reacted with glutaric anhydride, a hard vitrimer with a Tg of 166 °C and a Tv of 235 °C was obtained. While both samples exhibited good reprocessability upon hot-pressing around Tv, their surface scratches could not self-heal autonomously without applying pressure. Surface-functionalized superparamagnetic γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles (~20 nm) were dispersed into the soft vitrimer matrix to prepare nanocomposites. At a nanoparticle loading of 5 wt.%, the application of an oscillating magnetic field induced rapid induction heating, raising the nanocomposite temperature to 240–250 °C (well above the Tv) within 5–10 minutes, which enabled effective autonomous self-healing of surface scratches. In contrast, no self-healing was observed when the nanocomposite was directly heated in a vacuum oven at 240 °C. This difference is attributed to the possible migration of γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles toward the crack site under an oscillating magnetic field, which enhances localized heating and triggers the autonomous self-healing response.
Keywords: high temperature epoxy vitrimers, self-healing, Topology freezing transition temperature, Induction heating, Nanocomposites
Received: 20 Sep 2025; Accepted: 12 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang, Zhang, Wang and Zhu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Qing Wang, quw10@psu.edu
Lei Zhu, lxz121@case.edu
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