*Electrically Conductive Self-Healing Epoxy Composites for Flexible Applications: A Review DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1003037*

is influenced by various factors, including the concentration of broken bonds, the polymer chain mobility, and activation energies for bond exchange. These elements are intricately connected to the self-healing kinetics, encompassing temperature, mobility, and polymerization rate. To attain a high healing rate in self-healing materials, it is essential to customize the reaction kinetics by adjusting in temperature, repair time, or concentration. By carefully optimizing these parameters, the selfhealing material can be designed to facilitate rapid and efficient healing processes. For example, the epoxy composite film, made using graphene-assisted host-guest chemistry, exhibits substantial improvement in healing rate at various time intervals. At 120°C, it achieves a 45.3% recovery after 5 mins and an 85.1% recovery after 30 mins [31]. In addition, raising temperatures typically enhances molecular diffusion, resulting in an increased healing rate and improved healing efficiency. For instance, Vertuccio et al. [42] investigated the impact of the curing temperature on a rubber-toughened bifunctional epoxy resin that was infused with self-healing molecules. This infusion aimed to confer an auto-repair capability to the resin. The study revealed that elevating the functionalization temperature to 160°C proved more effective in facilitating the interaction between the rubber phase and the epoxy precursor during the functionalization process. Notably, at 160°C, a healing efficiency of over 69% was achieved. The most remarkable outcome (88%) was observed in the sample incorporating the self-healing 1.3-dimethylbarbituric acid (DBA) filler. However, when the same sample underwent functionalization at 120°C, its healing efficiency dropped to 52%. Nevertheless, the practical application of thermal treatment is constrained, making room temperature self-healing highly desirable and a focal point of current research.
