Research Progress in Self-healing Polysiloxane

Polysiloxane materials have excellent properties of aging resistance, electrical insulation, and hydrophobicity. They are widely used in aviation, automotive, flexible electronic devices, electrical and other fields. However, polysiloxane materials are inevitably damaged by force, heat and electricity in the process of use. These damages may lead to the reduction or even complete loss of material properties, shorten the service life of materials, and face significant challenges in safety. Self-healing is the ability of a material to prevent the crack from expanding and to heal when the internal crack is formed. It can restore basic properties of materials after damage, including mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, fracture toughness and corrosion resistance, prevent material damage, extend service life and expand the range of use. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop self-healing polysiloxane materials. With the development of self-healing polysiloxane materials, many problems have arisen, such as the convenience of repair conditions, the contradiction between self-healing and mechanical properties and the repair of electrical damage. These problems have become the bottlenecks of the development of self-healing polysiloxane. In this paper, starting from the mechanism of extrinsic and intrinsic self-healing, we reviewed the research progress of the structure design and synthesis of self-healing polysiloxane based on different repair strategies, and deeply discussed the relationship between the molecular structure of self-healing polysiloxane and self-healing properties and mechanical properties. In addition, we revealed the key problems that need to be overcome in the development of self-healing, analyzed the causes of the problems, and proposed possible solutions to these problems. Finally, the application of self-healing polysiloxanes in the electrical field was prospected. © 2023 Science Press. All rights reserved.