Development and Self-Healing Performance of Epoxy Based on Disulfide

Thermosetting composite materials are applied in mobility and structural applications due to their high mechanical strength and thermal properties. Nevertheless, these materials are difficult to recycle or reprocess. Therefore, research is currently underway to introduce vitrimer as a solution to this challenge. In this study, to enable reprocessing and self-healing of structural epoxy, an epoxy containing disulfide bonds was synthesized and added. The addition of disulfide epoxy resulted in a decrease in tensile strength and Young's modulus, but an increase in tensile strain. Analysis of the fracture surface after tensile testing revealed that the addition of disulfide epoxy imparted characteristics of ductile materials. This is attributed to the structure of disulfide epoxy, which primarily involves alkyl chains and bond exchange occurring at the disulfide bonds. It was confirmed that the addition of disulfide epoxy enables self-healing through reprocessing. While reprocessing was not possible with disulfide epoxy content below 17 wt%, it was feasible up to four times with content above 0.25 wt%. This study is expected to contribute to extending the lifespan of structural composites and enhancing recycling possibilities through reprocessing.