Let spiropyran help polymers feel force!

Mechanoresponsive polymers have garnered significant attention in recent years, due to their great potential application in stress/strain sensing and damage warning. Several reviews of mechanochemistry have been published recently. In this review, we mainly focus on the most established mechanophore, spiropyran (SP), from an engineering perspective. We present a workflow for SP mechanochemistry, applications in various polymeric systems and impacting factors, as well as characterization techniques. Current limitations and future research directions are briefly highlighted in the end. This review aims to offer deep insight into polymer mechanochemistry and provide approaches to study other mechanophores using the example of SP mechanochemistry in polymers.