Fabrication and Characterization of Self-Healable Polydisulfide Network-Based Composites

To overcome the disadvantages of difficulty in reprocessing due to rigidity of the thermosetting polymer, a dynamic polymer chain in which a cross-linking reaction is formed by using reversible covalent bonds is being created. However, because most research is focused on synthesizing different dynamic polymers, research on deriving performance through the formation of a composite material with other materials is insufficient. This study proposes a method for fabricating composite materials of carbon nanofibers and polydisulfide networks (PDSN) and analyzes their changes in thermal, physical, and self-healing properties. The composite materials exhibit high thermal conductivity (0.451 W mK–1) and excellent tensile performance (Young's modulus: 0.819 MPa) due to the introduction of carbon nanofibers into a polymer structure. In addition, the composite material maintains adhesive force derived from reversible S–S covalent bonding of the PDSN as well as self-healing and shape memory performance.