Self-healing ‘siloxane equilibrium’ materials after low-power electric breakdown in small-volume cells

Self-healing silicone rubber (SHSR) leveraging the ‘siloxane equilibrium’ mechanism was obtained by cross-linking anionic ring-opening copolymerization of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D₄) and a pre-synthesized bis-D₄ agent using tetramethylammonium hydroxide as an initiator. The new methodology of analysis was developed and the results of dynamics of SHSR self-healing after its low-power breakdown in specially constructed small-volume cells using visual detection of defect evolution over a longtime period are presented.