Recent Advances in Self‐Healing Conducting Polymers for Gas Sensors

With the continuous development of industrialization and urbanization, toxic and flammable gas emissions seriously affect human health and the environment, which has stimulated extensive interest in developing highly efficient, stable, and energy‐saving gas sensing technology. Conducting polymers have been widely studied in gas sensing applications owing to their advantages of superior electron transport properties, processability of flexible devices, and operation at room temperature. However, conducting polymers are easily damaged because of their inherent mechanical weakness, which leads to performance deterioration and restricts their widespread applications. Inspired by the biological self‐repair process, the self‐healing process has been introduced into conducting polymers, and self‐healing conducting polymer‐based gas sensors have been reported. In this review, the self‐healing behavior of polymers, synthesis approaches to prepare self‐healing conducting polymers, and gas‐sensing and conduction principles are illustrated in detail. Furthermore, recent progress in self‐healing conducting polymer‐based gas sensors for ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, VOCs, and hydrogen sensing is highlighted. Challenges of self‐healing conducting polymer‐based gas sensors are also discussed, including their environmental and power dependence, the delicate relationship between sensitivity and self‐healing, and concerns about selectivity and repeatability. Finally, the future of self‐healing conducting polymer‐based gas sensors is prospected. These sensors have great potential to be applied in smart wearables, environmental monitoring, and flexible electronics.