Elastomer-Based Vitrimers─A Review of the Preparation, Characterization, and Applications

Elastomer-based products are of prime importance in all aspects of modern society. Covalent cross-linked networks are highly desirable for achieving superior mechanical properties, heat resistance, and elasticity. However, these networks cannot break and reform, making traditional covalent systems challenging to reprocess and recycle. However, the permanent cross-links of those polymers enormously block their frontier developments and restrain them from being reused and reshaped. Consequently, the majority of waste materials end up in landfills and their incineration leads to serious environmental crises. An intense search to overcome the hurdles of the permanent cross-linking system has been underway for a long time, and a new group of polymers known as vitrimers has emerged, which work on the backbone of dynamic covalent networks. These exchangeable bonds give polymer reproducibility, self-healing, and recycling abilities along with enhanced mechanical properties. Vitrimers can be developed from bioresources or petrochemical origins, and various chemistries have been developed to formulate these polymers. Tremendous innovations have been employed in the area of elastomer-based vitrimers in recent years. The natural rubber-based vitrimers incredibly exceed the others in implementation and application segments, as they are developed from a bio origin. Here, our review enfolds the various types of elastomer-based vitrimers and focuses on their synthesis routes, characterization, property evaluation, and potential applications, and we try to provide a comprehensive overview that combines the majority of elastomer-based vitrimers, their blends, composites, nanocomposites, and their potential future developments in a concise format.