Smart inorganic polymer

Smart inorganic polymers (SIPs) are hybrid or fully inorganic polymers with tunable (smart) properties such as stimuli responsive physical properties (shape, conductivity, rheology, bioactivity, self-repair, sensing etc.). While organic polymers are often petrol-based, the backbones of SIPs are made from elements other than carbon. Common backbones utilized in SIPs include polysiloxanes, polyphosphates, and polyphosphazenes, to name a few.