Article Dans Une Revue Nature Materials Année : 2025

Cryogenically self-healing organic crystals

Chengde Ding
Baolei Tang
Yuxing Zhou
  • Fonction : Auteur
Bowen Jin
  • Fonction : Auteur
Patrick Commins
Marieh Al-Handawi
Liang Li
Panče Naumov
Hongyu Zhang

Résumé

Common self-healing mechanisms rely on the diffusion of chemical entities across a fissure to rebuild the interface. As diffusion is temperature-controlled, cryogenic conditions are prohibitive to self-healing. Here we report a molecular crystal that heals at ambient and high temperature (298 and 423 K) but that is also capable of autonomous recovery at 77 K. The efficiency of this process depends on dipole–dipole interactions as the dominant mechanism that reduces the separation between the interfaces. Comparative optical transmission measurements confirm that healed crystals are approximately 99% transparent relative to the same material before cracking. This cryogenic self-healing capability is used to design an autonomously reparative, all-organic, crystalline optical transmission system and enables substantial recovery of the optical losses due to the material’s ability to recover after damage. This and possibly other similar materials overcome the natural limitations of macromolecular self-healing media at cryogenic temperatures, opening opportunities for developing materials that can operate practically indefinitely under extreme conditions.

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Dates et versions

hal-05526717 , version 1 (25-02-2026)

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Citer

Chengde Ding, Baolei Tang, Yuxing Zhou, Bowen Jin, Patrick Commins, et al.. Cryogenically self-healing organic crystals. Nature Materials, 2025, 25 (2), pp.285-293. ⟨10.1038/s41563-025-02411-7⟩. ⟨hal-05526717⟩

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