Intrinsic Self-Healing Polymers Based on Supramolecular Interactions: State of the Art and Future Directions

Abstract

Supramolecular polymers are an intriguing class of materials with dynamic behavior as a result of the presence of non-covalent bonds. These bonds include hydrogen bonds, metallopolymers, ionomers, host–guest as well as π–π interactions. The strength of these supramolecular bonds can be tuned by varying the binding motifs. Their reversible and dynamic character can be utilized to engineer self-healing polymers. This review briefly presents the preconditions for design of self-healing polymers and summarizes the development of supramolecular self-healing polymers based on various non-covalent interactions. Furthermore, challenges and perspectives for the understanding of self-healing mechanisms and the preparation of novel materials with enhanced properties are discussed.