Light-triggered self-healing and shape-memory polymers

Abstract

In this review, we highlight the recent progress made in light-controlled self-healing and shape memory polymers. We analyse the materials design, underlying mechanisms and chemistries involved in the different methods developed for these two types of emerging photoresponsive materials. We show that these two seemingly different groups of functional materials are linked by a number of common approaches enabling their optical control, particularly the approaches based on the photothermal effect and photochemical reactions of photoswitching groups incorporated in polymer structures. Possible future developments and perspectives of using light as a unique trigger for polymer self-healing and shape-memory are also discussed.

Functional self-healing materials and their potential applications in biomedical engineering

“…Photo-induced self-healing via formation of new chemical bonds or reshuffling of polymer chains across damaged regions provides another elegant strategy to develop self- repairing materials [82]. One approach to recognize lighttriggered self-healing materials is to disperse immobilized photo-reactive moieties in polymers in which photo-crosslinking reactions are responsible for the healing of cracks.…”

Synthesis of Activated Ester Functional Polyesters through Light‐Induced [4+4] Cycloaddition Polymerization

“…For instance, a variety of organo-and hydrogels, organic materials for rewritable photopatterning, 3D optical memory devices, and shape memory polymers have been exploited by taking the advantage of anthracene photodimerization. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Besides the abovementioned photoswitching ability, the anthracene has another unique feature which abilities have been prepared by employing the activated ester substitution reactions. [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] It is well known that preparing a polymer under mild condition is always desirable.…”

A self-healable fluorescence active hydrogel based on ionic block copolymers prepared via ring opening polymerization and xanthate mediated RAFT polymerization

“…Self-healing is a biological phenomenon that provides a spontaneous recovery of the wound without any external stimuli. In synthetic polymeric system self-healing can be of two types; (i) induced self-healing like pH 34 , light 35 , heat 36 etc. and (ii) non-induced self-healing via formation of ionic interaction 34 , H-bonding 37 , π-π stacking 38 , metal coordination 39 etc.…”