Prospects and Future Scope of Self-healing Composites

Abstract

A biomaterial is a component that has been developed to interact with biological systems for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes in medicine. Tissue engineering, bioprinting, and regenerative medicine are just a few of the increasingly complex fields where biomaterials are being used. These applications frequently require difficult or even paradoxical combinations of biomaterial qualities that cannot be satisfied by traditional biomaterials. Many novel proposals have been introduced over the past 10 years to make biomaterials self-healing, opening up fresh possibilities for enhancing the functionality of conventional biomaterials. Thus, the selfhealing composite that will be discussed in the present article is one such biomaterial that comes into play. Self-healing composites are composites that automatically heal in the area where damage has occurred. This material draws inspiration from the way our body heals itself through regenerative processes, and these self-healing composites utilise various additional healing methods as well. This paper outlines the various aspects of self-healing composites and their types, with a focus on capsule-based and vascular self-healing systems. As a complement to previous reviews, this paper provides insights into the diverse self-repairing concepts proposed so far, as well as compares the study of healing mechanisms and manufacturing approaches for the assembly of capsule and vascular networks. The current concept of self-healing polymers provides advanced avenues for secure, longer-lasting, and more durable products and parts across a wide range of industries, such as veneers, electronics, transport, and energy