Protein-inspired hierarchical interactions for constructing healable, recyclable, assembled energetic composites

Developing high-performance energetic composites with dynamic functions, such as healing, recycling, and assembly abilities, remains a significant challenge. Herein, a protein-inspired hierarchical interaction strategy was designed for the development of supramolecular polymers that balance mechanical strength, dynamic functionality, and energy levels. The utilization of van der Waals force and multiple hydrogen bond interactions is essential to controlling physical crosslinking networks, microstructure, and exchange reactions. The synergistic effect of these supramolecular interactions provides the elastomers with a high heat release of 1642.9 J/g, a superior toughness of 13.15 MJ/m³, and an effective healing efficiency of 92.41 %. Moreover, this elastomer has the ability to generate energetic composites with dynamic properties, featuring superior crack-healing and recycling functions. Importantly, the homogeneous and heterogeneous dynamic assemblies are employed to achieve the controllable energy output ability. The current work provides a methodology to develop dynamic energetic composites with an outstanding dynamic property in the field of space exploration.