One-Pot Synthesis of High Performance Bismaleimide Vitrimers Based on Dynamic Carbon–Sulfur Bonds

Thermoset recycling has attracted great interest for circular material economy and environmental sustainability, but most recyclable thermosets enabled by classical dynamic bonds still suffer from complex synthesis of special monomers or inferior mechanical/thermal properties. Herein, relying on novel dynamic carbon–sulfur (C–S) bonds and available bismaleimide (BMI) resins, a high performance BMI vitrimer is reported. From one-pot synthesis, this BMI vitrimer exhibits exceptional thermal and physical properties with a typical T_g of ∼ 131 °C, storage modulus of 3.1 GPa, tensile strength of 80.4 MPa, and elongation of 12.2%, along with outstanding solvent resistance. Moreover, because of the exchangeable C–S bonds that are confirmed by model reactions, the BMI vitrimer possesses thermally-triggered malleability that is identified from stress–relaxation, creep deformation, and multireshaping investigations. Meanwhile, the BMI vitrimer can be selectively degraded by thiol compounds and achieve closed-loop recycling. This study will provide a convenient platform for the development of sustainable thermosets with high performance.