The polytannic acid-Fe(III) functionalized graphene oxide in poly (propylene carbonate) nanocomposite enabling enhanced shape memory, UV-resistance, and self-healing performance

Polypropylene carbonate (PPC) is a promising candidate of substrate materials used for human wearable devices due to its excellent ductility and biocompatibility. However, PPC is prone to be deformed, thus resulting in poor shape recovery property. One effective solution is to construct composites. In this work, poly (tannic acid) with Fe3+ (FPTA) @ graphene oxide (GO) was added to fabricate FPTA@GO/PPC composites. The results show that FPTA@GO can construct a tight network of hydrogen bonds into PPC to improve shape memory and self-healing properties. By varying the FPTA@GO content, the composites exhibit tunable shape memory property. Dynamic mechanical analysis confirms that FPTA@GO/PPC composites show better shape memory properties compared with pure PPC. 5 wt% FPTA@GO/PPC composite demonstrates superior shape fixation ratio (R-f = 99%) as well as superior shape recovery ratio (R-r = 94%) in 37 degrees C. Moreover, 5 wt% FPTA@GO/PPC composite possesses great self-healing efficiency of 81% and tensile strength (17.2 MPa). The UV absorption capacity of 5 wt% FPTA@GO/PPC is increased by 150% (far and mid-UV regions) and 400% (near-UV region) compared with pure PPC. Thus, FPTA@GO/PPC composites have potential applications in developing shape memory, self-healing, and UV-resistant materials for human wearable devices.