The role of polymeric matrices on the performance of smart self-healing coatings: A review

Abstract

Self-healing polymeric coating is a class of self-healing materials applied on the surface of a metal to provide a dense barrier, to protect the metal from the corrosive environment. Currently, Self-healing polymer materials are an emerging area of research due to their high attributes, including intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms with autonomous/non-autonomous healing approaches, longer lifespan, eco-friendly, high durability, and sustainability. The polymer coating matrix provides the efficient release of incorporated self-healing agents after triggering due to the crack formation in the polymer matrix, which aids the self-healing performance of the polymeric matrices. A variety of studies have been reported in the literature on self-healing coating matrices; however, none of them have been reported as such. This comprehensive review covers; (1) the generations of self-healing, (2) types of mechanisms, (3) classification based on self-healing polymer matrices, (4) typical fabrication techniques, (5) potential applications, and some critical thoughts on the choice and design of the self-healing system.