Self-healable and Conductive Hydrogel Coatings Based on Host-guest Complexation between β-Cyclodextrin and Adamantane

Simultaneously self-healable and conductive materials are desirable because of their lightness, long lifetime, and flexibility. Although supramolecular chemistry has been employed to prepare these desired materials, in many cases, additional conductive agents are required. Herein, we incorporated the host-guest complexation between cyclodextrin and adamantane into an intrinsically conductive polymer system. The obtained polymeric materials showed simultaneous self-healing properties and electrical conductivities solely as coatings without addition of any conductive agents. We have prepared simultaneously self-healable and conductive polymeric materials based on host-guest chemistry between cyclodextrin and adamantane in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and poly(styrene sulfonic acid) systems. The obtained polymeric materials were investigated as functional coatings. The anchor units employed in the polymer chains increased the electric conductivities as well as the adhesion force on the substrate.