Novel system with damage initiated autonomous healing property based on heterogeneous blends of ethylene-methacrylic acid ionomer

Self-healing behavior of ionomer blends containing both rapidly crystallizing phase and with higher amount of amorphous phase has not yet been studied. This work gives a new insight to understand the development of materials with intrinsic self-healing property. In particular, binary blends based on poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid sodium salt) (EMNa)/Poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (EVA) and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR), were studied by ballistic puncture tests. In the composition range explored (15–50 wt.% of EVA and ENR), the self-healing characteristics decrease with the increasing amount of EVA but are maintained in all ranges for ENR/EMNa blends. The ballistic damage initiated autonomous healing was observed by optical microscopy and the healing was further analyzed by thermal and mechanical behaviors of the blend materials.

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► This research investigates new materials with intrinsic self-healing property.
► Blends based on ionomers with hard or elastomeric polymers were prepared.
► Blends with high epoxidized rubber amount show full healing after ballistic damages.
► Blends with ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVA) also show healing, but up to 30 wt %.
► Ionomer crystallinity is remarkably affected by the presence of EVA phase.