Abstract

Shape-memory polymer nanocomposites (SMPCs) are considered an advanced type of smart material, in which a specific stimulus influences the structure and thus memorizes their unique shape. SMPCs are widely used in high-performance water–vapor permeability materials, sensors and actuators, intelligent medical devices, morphing applications, and self-deployable structures in spacecraft. Modification of SMPCs overcomes the limitations of the pristine polymer and classical composites and can be counted among the main groups of smart materials. The performance of SMPCs under thermal, electric, optical, magnetic, and solvent stimuli can be improved further, potentially giving them a new range of uses. The most extensively researched SMPCs are those based on polyurethane, epoxy, polycaprolactam, polylactic acid, and polyvinyl alcohol; these also include those nanofillers based on carbon like CNTs, carbon black, graphene oxide, graphene nanoplatelets, graphene quantum dots, etc; metal oxides like Fe3O4 and TiO2 ; cellulose like cellulose nanocrystals and nanocellulose gel; and other nanomaterials such as nano-clay, TiN, AuNRs, organic nanoparticles, silica, sepiolite, silsesquioxane, and hydroxyapatite nanofillers.