Rapid Self-Healing Supramoleular Gel Constructed from Pillar[5]arene

A copolymer with pillar[5]arenes as the pendant groups and a homoditopic guest bearing two triazole-containing cyanoalkane groups are synthesized. Mixing the copolymers and the guests, a self-healing gel comes into being. The gel self-heals immediately and recovers completely within 90 s. It can respond to temperature and competitive molecules. It also exhibits favorable mechanical and remolding properties. Further investigations show that the strong host-guest interaction between pillar[5]arene and the guest is responsible for the excellent properties of the gel. Azobenzene motifs in guest may improve the hardness and moldability of the gel. As far as it is known, such rapid and efficient healing is unprecedented.