Self-healing material for wearable electronics Available to Purchase

With the global rise in heart-related deaths, there is a pressing need for advanced artificial skin-like materials and wearable electronic devices capable of real-time monitoring of motion, respiration, and heart rate. Over the past two decades, wearable sensor technology has evolved remarkably, offering flexible, stretchable, and skin-adherent electronics for continuous health monitoring. However, these materials often face reduced lifespans due to bending, moisture, friction, and scratches, leading to performance degradation or device failure. Enhancing their durability or developing self-healing alternatives is thus essential. Although several self-healing materials can recover a single property, such as mechanical strength, achieving simultaneous restoration of multiple functionalities, including mechanical, thermal, electrical, and self-healing, remains a challenge. This review is the first to present a comprehensive, quantitative comparison of four major classes of self-healing materials: graphene-based systems, MXene-integrated nanocomposites, bio-inspired supramolecular elastomers, and dielectric-assisted self-healing materials, assessing their healing efficiency, stretchability, tensile strength, electrical performance, and environmental stability across numerous reported studies. It also discusses integration challenges, environmental compatibility, and strategies for improving long-term device stability. Finally, recommendations are proposed for scalable fabrication and enhanced reliability, aiming to accelerate the practical adoption of self-healing materials in next-generation wearable electronics.