Recent Advances in Self-healing Polymer Materials: Routes and Strategies

The most intriguing area of scientific study and engineering applications is to synthetize materials that can autonomously heal damage similar to biological tissues. Since the concept of self-healing materials was established, several variations of self-healing polymer materials have been developed based on distinct healing techniques. This review outlines the most recent breakthroughs in self-healing polymers and utilizes the opportunity to categories the descriptions of self-healing technologies in the literatures according to extrinsic and intrinsic routes (noncovalent bonds, physical interaction, and covalent bonds). The major focus is on the routes and strategies used to generate self-healing polymer materials. In addition, the strengths and weaknesses of polymer materials with different self-healing routes and strategies in terms of mechanical and self-healing properties were summarized. Furthermore, we also reviewed the progress of the development from a single self-healing mechanism to multiple self-healing mechanisms to achieve balanced comprehensive performance. Finally, the future trajectory of self-healing polymers is envisioned.