Nanocomposites of Poly( n -Butyl Acrylate) with Fe 3 O 4 : Crosslinking with Hindered Urea Bonds, Reprocessing and Related Functional Properties

In this contribution, we reported the synthesis of the nanocomposites of poly( -butyl acrylate) with Fe O nanoparticles (NPs) via dynamic crosslinking of poly( -butyl acrylate)-grafted Fe O NPs with hindered urea bonds (HUBs). Towards this end, the surfaces of Fe O NPs were grafted with poly( -butyl acrylate- -2-(3- -butyl-3-ethylureido)ethyl acrylate) chains [denoted as Fe O - -P(BA- -TBEA)] via living radical polymerization. Thereafter, 1,2-bis(tert-butyl)ethylenediamine was used as a crosslinker to afford the organic-inorganic networks with variable contents of Fe O NPs and crosslinking densities. It was found that the fine dispersion of Fe O NPs in the matrix of poly( -butyl acrylate) was achieved. The nanocomposites exhibited excellent reprocessing properties, attributed to the introduction of HUBs. Owing to the crosslinking, the nanocomposites displayed excellent shape memory properties. Further, the nanocomposites possessed photo- and magnetic-thermal properties, which were inherited from Fe O NPs. These functional properties allow triggering the shape shifting of the nanocomposites in an uncontacted fashion.