Abstract
It is well known that polymeric gels based on dynamic covalent chemistry can exhibit unique properties in response to external stimuli. Here we show fascinating properties of dynamic covalent polymer gels, in which reversible carbon－carbon bonds in equilibrium between dissociation and association at room temperature in air are embedded. The dynamic covalent polymer gels have the ability to reorganize their polymer networks autonomously at ambient temperature, and therefore, can show self-healing also due to the small bond dissociation energy. In addition, the tolerance of the blue-colored carbon radicals, which are formed from the cleavage of the carbon－carbon reversible bonds, toward oxygen enables the gels to show repeatable stress-visualization, particularly in response to the stress induced by coagulation of swelling solvents.
