Smart Materials for Advanced Environmental Applications
CHAPTER 5: Intrinsic Self-Healing Polymeric Materials for Engineering and Environmental Applications
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Published:23 Feb 2016
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Lin Li, Jingsi Chen, Bin Yan, Hongbo Zeng, 2016. "Intrinsic Self-Healing Polymeric Materials for Engineering and Environmental Applications", Smart Materials for Advanced Environmental Applications, Peng Wang
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The ability of self-healing and regeneration of function upon inflicted damage, such as the healing of bone fractures and the closure of injured blood vessels, are pervasive in biological systems while rare in man-made materials.1 During the last decade self-healing has enjoyed great popularity in materials science because it can provide reduced material damage during general usage, reduced replacement costs, and improved product safety, especially for applications located in poorly accessible areas that demand long-term reliability. Polymers are by far the mostly studied material class in the context of self-healing behavior due to the facile functionalization and modification of polymeric systems. Generally the self-healing polymeric materials can be classified into two kinds: to achieve healing extrinsically based on external healing components or intrinsically by reversible bond formation.2 As an example, the self-healing process can be achieved extrinsically by pre-embedded micro- or nanocapsules in the polymer matrix. Upon crack intrusion, the healing agents are released from the embedded capsules and polymerized to bond the crack faces.3 However, the depletion of the local healing agent after damage-triggered release results in only one singular healing event, suggesting an inability to repeatedly heal the polymer at the same location.2 This limitation has motivated the development of vascular self-healing materials, mimicking the capillary network of the dermis layer in animals. Healing agents are contained in hollow channels in the polymer matrix and could be refilled from an interconnected undamaged region of the vasculature or from an external source by human intervention.4 Despite the considerable progress gained in extrinsic self-healing polymeric materials, developing intrinsic self-healing polymeric materials has become increasingly appealing as they require no additional healing agents and the healing event can be repeatedly conducted even after multiple damage.5