Recyclable and Degradable Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Betaine-Based Deep Eutectic Polymer Dry Gel Plastics with a High Mechanical Strength.

Abstract

Most existing polymer plastics are nonreusable and also exhibit poor biocompatibility and a poor mechanical strength-tensile strain balance. Herein, using deep eutectic polymers, we prepare reusable hydrophilic supramolecular dry gel plastics with balanced stress-strain characteristics through the hydrogen bonding of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with betaine (Bta). As PVA exhibits crystalline stiffness and abundant hydrogen-bonding sites, it is employed as a network backbone in the proposed deep eutectic supramolecular polymers. In the prepared PVA/Bta dry gel plastics, PVA and Bta are dynamically and physically crosslinked through high-density hydrogen bonding, resulting in a yield strength of ~109 MPa and toughness of up to ~210.92 MJ m^-3. In addition, these plastics can be recycled at least five times in an aqueous environment while maintaining a mechanical strength of 100 MPa. Furthermore, the proposed polymers exhibit high transparency (92%) in the visible spectrum. We expect these polymers to be used in synthesizing biodegradable dry gel plastics, as well as to lead to the development of recyclable deep eutectic PVA/Bta polymers with remarkable strength.