Self-Healing Polymer Nanocomposites

Self-healing materials with repair or healing ability of damages can be used with high reliability under service conditions. Approaches to the creation of a self-healing phenomenon in materials include: healing without or with internal or external interferences, which are referred to autogenic and autonomic repair, respectively. The most important self-healing mechanisms in polymer based composites are: the release of healing agent, reversible cross-links, electrohydrodynamics, conductivity, shape memory effect, nanoparticle migration and co-deposition. Since the production and use of self-healing materials is in its early stage, the use of nanoparticles in polymer-based composites can provide a great opportunity to create self-healing capabilities and improve properties. In this paper, the results of theoretical studies and models are considered in order to fully understand the self-healing behavior of nanocomposites and then various polymer- based composites such as hydrogels (containing nanoclay, gold nanoparticles, carbon nanomaterials) and composites (containing carbon nanomaterials and other nanoparticles) are introduced and investigated as the most important nanocomposites with self-healing capabilities. The most widely used nanoparticles in self-healing polymers include carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide, organoclay, halloysite nanotubes, gold and silver.