Recent developments in self-healing polymers (SHPs) have been fueled by the increasing need for sustainable materials with extended life-spans and functionality. This review focuses on the shape memory effect (SME) in polymers and its contribution to self-healing. Starting from structural requirements and thermodynamics, quantitative aspects of the SME are discussed in the context of energy storage and release during the damage-repair cycle. Characterization of shape memory in polymers has largely concentrated on recovery and fixation ratios, which describe the efficiency of the geometrical changes. In this review, factors that govern strain, stress, and energy storage capacities are also explored. Of particular interest for self-healing are deformability and conformational entropic energy storage and release efficiency during reversible plasticity shape memory (RPSM) cycles. Physical and chemical mechanisms of strength regain following shape recovery as well as other physical factors that influence the self-healing process are also discussed.

自愈聚合物（SHP）的最新发展受到对具有延长使用寿命和功能性的可持续材料的日益增长的需求所推动。这篇综述着重于聚合物中的形状记忆效应（SME）及其对自我修复的贡献。从结构要求和热力学出发，在损伤修复周期内能量存储和释放的背景下讨论了SME的定量方面。聚合物中形状记忆的表征主要集中在恢复率和固定率上，这说明了几何变化的效率。在这篇综述中，还探讨了控制应变，应力和能量存储能力的因素。对于自我修复，特别感兴趣的是可逆性可塑性形状记忆（RPSM）循环期间的变形性和构象熵能量存储和释放效率。还讨论了形状恢复后强度恢复的物理和化学机理，以及影响自我修复过程的其他物理因素。