Part of the book: High Performance Polymers - Polyimides Based
Given increasing environmental issues and energy crisis, mimicking nature to confer materials with self-healing attribute to prolong their lifespan is highly imperative. As representative of soft matter with extensive applications, hydrogels have gained significant attention. In this chapter, a survey of the current strategies for synthesizing self-healing hydrogels based on inorganic-based, polymer and nanocomposite hydrogels is covered and highlighted. Several examples for non-autonomic and autonomic self-healing hydrogels, according to the trigger exerted, are presented. General mechanisms accounting for self-healing hydrogels are listed. Some typical instances to outline the emerging applications of self-healing hydrogels are also provided. Finally, a perspective on the current trends and challenges is briefly summarized.
Part of the book: Emerging Concepts in Analysis and Applications of Hydrogels