Noncovalent Assembly Enabled Strong yet Tough Materials with Room-Temperature Malleability and Healability

The manufacturing of both metals and polymer materials strongly relies on melt processing at relatively high temperatures which needs complex shaping-cooling equipment, long molding time, and considerable energy consumption. Reducing the processing temperature to achieve room-temperature malleability is heavily desired for low-carbon demands but continues to be a great challenge. Here, we demonstrate a noncovalent assembly strategy to fabricate room-temperature malleable composites embedded by liquid metals with excellent toughness (105.88 MJ m–3, higher than most traditional plastics and metallic aluminum) and strong mechanical strength (35.49 MPa). The dissociation–reconstruction of supramolecular bonding interactions between assembled nanoparticles and polymer matrix allow the malleable composite with two interchangeable supramolecular states to achieve programming at room temperature stimulated by water vapor and give it self-healing ability (self-healing efficiency of ∼100%; the healed sample can lift about 52,300 times its own weight). Furthermore, the composite also exhibits metallic luster and prospective application in thermal dissipation. This strategy might be an efficient way for the development of a method for strong and tough materials structurally designed to achieve programming at moderate conditions.