Abstract
The ability to additively-manufacture mechanically responsive molecules, known as mechanophores (MPs), that are incorporated into polymer feedstocks provides opportunities for self-healing,real-time damage detection, and improvements in quality assurance and control capabilities to several industries (wind energy technology, building and construction, etc.) who are adopting additive manufacturing (AM). However, before the applications are realized and industrially adopted, further research and development regarding MP-incorporated AM feedstock availability, production scale-up, and processability and printability is needed. The goal of this review is to bridge the gap between the bench top and real world applications of AM of MPs by identifying high impact application spaces and highlighting the challenges that need to be overcome for widespread adoption. Here, the state-of-the-art of AM of MP-incorporated feedstocks is reviewed, followed by a discussion of potential future applications, current challenges, and research areas that work toward commercialization of AM of MP-incorporated feedstocks.
