Abstract

Self-healing materials have gained attention in recent years due to their unique ability to recover from damage without external intervention. This review provides an overview of the concept of self-healing, different types, including extrinsic and intrinsic, as well as their synthesis, mechanism of healing in the construction of vascular and capsular networks, and various applications of self-healing materials such as restoration of mechanical and barrier properties, corrosion protection, electronics, environment, and energy storage. The potential of self-healing materials to revolutionize various applications is highlighted. However, the review also highlights the challenges and limitations that must be overcome to fully realize the potential of self-healing materials in practice. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.) © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2023.