Self-healing and elastic polymer gel via terpyridine-metal coordination.

A supramolecular polymer is prepared by tristerpyridine ligand and metal ion Zinc coordination. When the supramolecular polymer is dissolved in acetonitrile, a metallo-gel can be obtained at a very low monomer concentration (< 1.0 wt%). Remarkably, this metallo-gel exhibits rapid self-healing ability and excellent elasticity with high recovery. [Display omitted] • Coordination gelation was observed at very low monomer concentrations, indicating gel- A /Zn2+ was a highly potential supergelator. • The supramolecular gel exhibited a great macroscopic self-healing ability. • A good elastic behavior was observed from gel- A /Zn2+. Self-healing and elasticity are assiduously pursued qualities for substrate materials which are applicable in many fields such as wearable electronic devices, touch screens, and soft robotics. Up to now, the most reported self-healing and elastic gel materials were constructed by supramolecular polymers with covalent backbones. Herein, a supramolecular gel- A /Zn2+ was built based on supramolecular polymerization through terpyridine-Zn2+ coordination. Importantly, this metallo-gel exhibits the self-healing ability. In addition, a freshly prepared metallo-gel ball with a diameter of 1.0 cm could rebound back with 89.6 % recovery from free-drop which displayed excellent elasticity. Superb features of gel- A /Zn2+ including self-healing ability, elasticity and hydrophilia provide prospects for high-performance adaptive materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]