Influence of quadruple hydrogen bonding on polyvinyl butyral resin properties

•Self-healing properties of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) copolymer were confirmed.•PVB exhibited shape memory properties.•The influence of quadruple hydrogen bonding on PVB performances was investigated.•Enhanced thermo-mechanical resistance was obtained by incorporating UPy.•100% healing efficiency was achieved at 120 °C with a UPy content of 2.5 mol.%. Herein we report an easily accessible supramolecular polymer readily made from polyvinyl butyral (PVB) by cross-linking with non-covalent self-complementary ureido-pyrimidinone (UPy) dimers. The resulting materials exhibit multifunctional properties, not only self-healing and shape memory, but also enhanced thermo-mechanical resistance. The UPy content, which represents the quadruple hydrogen bonding density, shows an important influence on tuning polymer performances. Moderate UPy content (2.5 mol.%) is important to impart the optimal comprehensive properties. Both infrared analyses and dynamic mechanical analyses indicate that the quadruple hydrogen bonding is stable up to 120 °C, thus enabling the healing process. The healing efficiency highly depends on the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the final polymer, itself being controlled by the UPy content. A 100% healing efficiency can be achieved at 120 °C when the UPy content is controlled up to 2.5 mol.%. Meanwhile, around 90% healing efficiency was achieved in water at 60 °C for all materials. All samples exhibit shape memory properties without obvious dependence on the UPy content. This work illustrates that the physical cross-linking, formed by non-covalent hydrogen bonding, cannot only provide a practical strategy to obtain multi-responsive shape memory polymers with self-healing feature but also offers the possibility to tune the polymer thermal and mechanical properties. [Display omitted]