title: Chemistry of crosslinking processes for self-healing polymers.
abstract: Recent developments in material design have seen an exponential increase of polymers and polymer composites that can repair themselves in response to damage. In this review, a distinction is made between extrinsic materials, where the self-healing property is obtained by adding healing agents to the material to be repaired, and intrinsic materials, where self-healing is achieved by the material itself through its chemical nature. An overview of the crosslinking chemistries used in self-healing materials will be given, discussing the advantages and drawbacks of each system. The review is not only aiming to enable researchers to compare their ongoing research with the state-of-the-art but also to serve as a guide for the newcomers, which allows for a selection of the most promising self-healing chemistries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Organic Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry Research Group, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 S4-bis, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Stijn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Billiet
authors.forename: Xander K D
authors.initials: XK
authors.lastname: Hillewaere
authors.forename: Roberto F A
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: Filip E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Du Prez
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D002214:Capsules / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry*; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002214:Capsules; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D011108:Polymers