biostudies-literatureLiu YNational Social Science Fund of China14665-14677https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8698205biostudies-literatureUnknown11(24)Self-healing efficiency and mechanical strength are always a pair of mechanical contradictions of a polymer. Herein, a series of novel mussel-inspired modified graphene oxide/polyurethane composites were successfully fabricated <i>via</i> rational molecular design and introducing hyperbranched polymer-modified graphene oxide. The composites exhibit outstanding self-healing performances with a self-healing efficiency of 87.9%. Especially, their self-healing properties possess exceptional water-insensitivity, which presents a high self-healing efficiency of 92.5% under 60 °C water for 2 h and 74.6% under 25 °C water for 6 h. Furthermore, the tensile strength of the composites increased by 107.7% with a high strain of 2170%. In addition, the composites show a remarkable recovery capability of 76.3% and 83.7% under tensile and compression loading, respectively, after 20 cycles. This strategy shows prominent application potential in high-performance solid propellants, protective coating, electronic skin, soft sensors and other water-insensitive devices.RSC advancesBioinspired modified graphene oxide/polyurethane composites with rapid self-healing performance and excellent mechanical properties.PMC86982052020-SKJJ-C-108Liu YZheng JZhang YZhang XJia YYu GDu YLi KfalseBioinspired modified graphene oxide/polyurethane composites with rapid self-healing performance and excellent mechanical properties.Self-healing efficiency and mechanical strength are always a pair of mechanical contradictions of a polymer. Herein, a series of novel mussel-inspired modified graphene oxide/polyurethane composites were successfully fabricated <i>via</i> rational molecular design and introducing hyperbranched polymer-modified graphene oxide. The composites exhibit outstanding self-healing performances with a self-healing efficiency of 87.9%. Especially, their self-healing properties possess exceptional water-insensitivity, which presents a high self-healing efficiency of 92.5% under 60 °C water for 2 h and 74.6% under 25 °C water for 6 h. Furthermore, the tensile strength of the composites increased by 107.7% with a high strain of 2170%. In addition, the composites show a remarkable recovery capability of 76.3% and 83.7% under tensile and compression loading, respectively, after 20 cycles. This strategy shows prominent application potential in high-performance solid propellants, protective coating, electronic skin, soft sensors and other water-insensitive devices.2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Apr2025-04-22T09:59:17.896Z2025-04-05T23:21:36.301ZS-EPMC86982053542396610.1039/d1ra00944c