Self-healing polymers using photo-reversible dimerisation reactions

Self-healing polymers are an interesting class of materials that offer a solution to issues such as defects arising from manufacturing and damage that occurs during use, to prolong the lifetime of the materials. The inspiration to create the self-healing materials came from the mimicry of biological systems which have the ability to heal after wounding. This project focuses on the use of light to trigger the self-healing process of polymeric materials which can be applied to coatings and films.