Effect of polymer architecture on the intrinsic self-healing character of polymers

Intrinsic and extrinsic self-healing strategies can be employed to mitigate the effects of local damage in order to (partially) restore a lost property or functionality and to avoid premature catastrophic failure of the whole system. It is well known that polymer architecture has a crucial influence on mechanical, physical and thermal properties. However, the effect of polymer architecture on the healing capabilities of self-healing polymers has not yet been studied in detail. This paper addresses the effect of polymer architecture on the intrinsic healing character of polymeric materials using different reversible chemistries and aims at highlighting the need for more studies on this particular topic. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.