Abstract
Recyclability of thermosetting polymers and their composites is a challenge for alleviating environmental pollution and resource waste. In this study, solvent-recyclable thermosetting polyimide (PI) and its composite were successfully synthesized. The tensile strength, elongation at break, and Young’s modulus of PI are 108.70 ± 7.29 MPa, 19.35% ± 3.89%, and 2336.42 ± 128.00 MPa, respectively. The addition of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) not only enhances the mechanical properties of PI but also endows it with excellent tribological properties. The PI illustrates a high recycling efficiency of 94.15%, but the recycled composite exhibits inferior mechanical properties. The recycling and utilization of PI and its composite are realized through imine bonds (–C=N), which provides new guidance for solving the problem of environmental pollution and resource waste and is potential application in the field of sustainable tribology.
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Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (Grant No. 22JR5RA108), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52205234), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. Y2018457), and the Key Program of the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS (Grant No. KJZLZD-3).
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Xinrui ZHANG. He received his Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2010. Now, he is a professor at the Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Wear and Protection of Materials, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 journal papers. His research interests include: (1) high strength and shape memory polyurethane; (2) design, preparation and wear failure mechanism of polymer-based lubrication and sealing materials; and (3) type selection design and service behavior research of sealing composite components.
Song LI. He received his Ph.D. degree in materials science from Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China in 2021. Now, he is working as a researcher in the Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Wear and Protection of Materials, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research interests include special engineering plastics, polymer tribology, and functional polymers and their composites.
Xiaoyue WANG. She received her B.S. degree from Liaocheng University. Now, she is a Ph.D. candidate in the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her research is focused on the high-performance dynamic elastomers and polymers tribology.
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Molecular design of recyclable thermosetting polyimide and its composite with excellent mechanical and tribological properties
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Wang, X., Yang, Z., Wang, T. et al. Molecular design of recyclable thermosetting polyimide and its composite with excellent mechanical and tribological properties. Friction 12, 452–461 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0770-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0770-6