Self-healing Materials: Concept
The story of the “self-healing” materials was developed by the research teams in University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My advisor, Dr.Kessler was beginning his Ph.D. research in the one of these teams. This novel concept is publised on Nature, Feb 15, 2001, to describe a material with the ability to heal itself autonomically, i.e. a self-healing material.
One simple approach of “self-healing” materials is a microencapsulated system. In a structural composite matrix, catalyst capable of triggering the polymerization of the healing agent and microcapsules containing healing agent are embedded. Once damage occurs, the cracks ruputure the microcapsules, releasing the healing agent, which contacts the catalyst to form polymers that bonds the crack faces together.