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Progress in Petrochemical Science

A Study of Microcapsule Self-Healing Materials

Panhua Li, Daxue Du and Haiyan Wang*

Hebei Key Laboratory of Heavy Metal Deep-Remediation in Water and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Yanshan University, China

*Corresponding author: Hebei Key Laboratory of Heavy Metal Deep-Remediation in Water and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Yanshan University, China

Submission: January 11, 2023;Published: January 12, 2023

DOI: 10.31031/PPS.2022.04.000598

ISSN 2637-8035
Volume4 Issue5

Opinion

As a new kind of intelligent material, microcapsule self-healing composite provides a feasible method for repairing microcracks in multiple matrix materials. Nevertheless, microcapsule self-healing system still face the limitation of widespread research and application in the aspects of property performances. In this work, we mainly describe the background, basic properties, and challenges of the self-healing materials based on microcapsules. Recently, self-healing polymer composites have been extensively focused [1]. Compared with traditional polymer materials, self-healing polymers can restore the original properties of materials without significant artificial intervention [2,3]. With the rapid development of microcapsule technology, microcapsule self-healing material has gradually gained attention in the repair of microcracks to polymer composites and become a crucial spot in the field of new materials [4].

The repair principle is that the microcapsules containing the healing agents rupture when the damage occurs in the substrate, and the released healing agents reaches the microcracks and triggers a polymerization reaction to repair the cracks under a certain mechanism of action. The microcapsule self-repair system could achieve efficient healing of damage, prolong the service life of materials, reduce maintenance costs, and improve stability [5]. To achieve future widespread application, the ideal microcapsule self-healing materials should meet the following characteristics. (a) The microcapsules maintain long-term stability during service period without chemical reaction, until the microcapsule ruptures. (b) The healing agents have appropriate fluidity and reaction rate, and the shrinkage of healing agents is small after polymerization, forming the polymer with adhesion ability and mechanical properties. (c) Stable microcapsule shells are not permeable and will not react with the healing agents or matrix material. (d) The shell of microcapsule is strong enough for processing and could respond immediately to microcracks. The self-healing ability of microcapsules to external damage has great potential for polymeric materials, but there still exists potential challenges. (a) The presence of microcapsules in polymeric materials would not destroy the properties and functions of the original material. (b) Microcapsule self-healing materials are difficult to achieve repeated healing. (c) Realize truly automatic repair of materials without any artificial intervention. (d) Lack of accurate evaluation of the self-healing properties of polymer materials, including detection of internal damage, and reporting of damage locations. In summary, the research on microcapsule self-healing materials has far-reaching significance for improving the reliability and stability of composite materials. Therefore, it is necessary to vigorously accelerate the research work on microcapsule self-healing materials, and then design complete and efficient experimental procedures, to produce microcapsule self-healing materials with positive performance, so as to improve material reliability, reduce maintenance cost.

References

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  2. Delozier DM, Watson KA, Smith JG, Connell JW (2005) Preparation and characterization of space durable polymer nanocomposite films. Composites Science and Technology 65(5): 749-755.
  3. Watson KA, Palmieri FL, Connell JW (2002) Space environmentally stable polyimides and copolyimides derived from [2,4-bis(3-aminophenoxy) phenyl] diphenylphosphine oxide. Macromolecules 35(13): 4968-4974.
  4. White SR, Sottos NR, Geubelle PH, Moore JS, Kessler MR, et al. (2001) Autonomic healing of polymer composites. Nature 409: 794-797.
  5. Qian Y, Qi H, Li J, Sun J, Wang X, et al. (2018) Mechanically robust atomic oxygen resistant coatings capable of autonomously healing damage in low earth orbit space environment. Advanced Materials 30(36): 1803854.

© 2023 Haiyan Wang. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.