Performance Evaluation of Self-Healing and Stimuli-Responsive Smart Polymers for Advanced Functional Applications

Abstract

Smart polymers represent a frontier of materials science in which macromolecular architecture is deliberately engineered to exhibit highly specific, reversible responses to external stimuli or to autonomously repair mechanical damage. This review consolidates and critically analyses the state of the art across two interlocking domains: (i) self-healing polymers whose dynamic covalent and supramolecular chemistries restore structural integrity after damage, and (ii) stimuli-responsive polymers whose conformational transitions, phase separations, or chemical transformations convert environmental signals into controlled macroscopic responses. Detailed quantitative results tables covering ten representative systems in each category are provided, together with mechanical performance benchmarking, drug-delivery efficacy data, and synthesis/characterisation parameters. The convergence of these two classes—dual-functional materials that both heal and respond—is identified as the most impactful near-term direction for biomedical, aerospace, electronics, and sustainable materials engineering.