Self-Healing Materials for 3D Printing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing/3D printing is praised as revolutionary by many because it enables the decentralized and on-demand manufacturing of complex shapes. With the ongoing rapid development and increased availability of these technologies, it has become crucial to develop novel materials with unique functionalities for 3D-printed components. Advances in self-healing materials have resulted in structures capable of recovering from physical damage through material remendability. By applying self-healing solutions to 3D printing, researchers are attempting to overcome current barriers such as low mechanical properties, material waste, and printability issues, among others. This review summarizes the current state of research on self-healing materials used for 3D printing and presents recent progress in the 3D printing of self-healing components. The particular focus is on the use of intrinsic polymer self-healing, which is prominent in the published literature. The self-healing mechanisms of the proposed material systems as well as their composition are highlighted, and their intended application with respect to 3D printing is focused on. The scientific and technological challenges involved in the implementation of self-healing materials and approaches and the potential functional 3D printing applications of these new materials are also discussed.