Radio Frequency Joule Heating for Healing and Reversible Adhesion Enabled by Dynamic Covalent Bonds

Herein, radio frequency (RF) Joule heating is used to trigger dynamic covalent bond exchange in a furan‐maleimide Diels–Alder polymer (DAP). Prior work shows that carbon susceptors can be incorporated into materials and undergo Joule heating when exposed to an electric field. Herein, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are added to the DAP to make the material responsive to RF fields, and to enable selective, noncontact healing behavior of DAP after electric field exposure. After healing, mechanical testing is conducted to compare the tensile strength and toughness of the healed samples with the mechanical properties of the original, undamaged samples. A 96.2% recovery in tensile strength and an 83.2% recovery in toughness are observed. Also, RF heating of DAP/CNT enables repeated bonding and debonding of the material, allowing for adhesion and deadhesion on demand.