Self-Healing of Polymers and Polymer Composites

This review is devoted to the description of methods for the self-healing of polymers, polymer composites, and coatings. The self-healing of damages that occur during the operation of the corresponding structures makes it possible to extend the service life of the latter, and in this case, the problem of saving non-renewable resources is simultaneously solved. Two strategies are considered: (a) creating reversible crosslinks in the thermoplastic and (b) introducing a healing agent into cracks. Bond exchange reactions in network polymers (a) proceed as a dissociative process, in which crosslinks are split into their constituent reactive fragments with subsequent regeneration, or as an associative process, the limiting stage of which is the interaction of the reactive end group and the crosslink. The latter process is implemented in vitrimers. Strategy (b) is associated with the use of containers (hollow glass fibers, capsules, microvessels) that burst under the action of a crack. Particular attention is paid to self-healing processes in metallopolymer systems.

Preparation and Optimization of Waterborne Acrylic Core Microcapsules for Waterborne Wood Coatings and Comparison with Epoxy Resin Core

Microcapsules were prepared by in situ polymerization with urea formaldehyde resin as the wall material and Dulux waterborne acrylic acid as the core material. The effects of the core–wall ratio, water bath temperature and depositing time on the morphology, particle size, yield and encapsulation ratio of microcapsules were investigated by orthogonal experiment of three factors and two levels. The results showed that the core–wall ratio had the greatest influence on the performance of microcapsules. When the core–wall ratio was 0.58:1, the water bath temperature was 70 °C, and the depositing time was 5 d, the microcapsule performance was the best. With the increase in depositing time, the yield of microcapsule particles increased gradually, and the microcapsules appeared to show an adhesive phenomenon. However, the long-term depositing time did not lead to complete deposition and agglomeration of microcapsules. When 10.0% concentration of the waterborne acrylic microcapsules with 0.58:1 of core–wall ratio was added to the coatings, the mechanical and optical properties of the coatings did not decrease significantly, but the elongation at break increased significantly. Therefore, this study offers a new prospect for using waterborne acrylic microcapsules to improve the toughness of waterborne paint film which can be cured at room temperature on a wood surface.

Preparation and Characterization of Urea Formaldehyde @ Epoxy Resin Microcapsule on Waterborne Wood Coatings

Urea formaldehyde @ epoxy resin microcapsules were prepared by two steps in situ polymerization, and the morphology and composition of microcapsules with different mass ratios of core to wall material were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The microcapsules were added to the waterborne wood coatings to explore the effect of microcapsules on the properties of coatings and their self-repairing characteristics, and the gloss, hardness, adhesion, and impact resistance of the waterborne wood coatings were investigated. The results showed that when the concentration of microcapsule was 10.0% and the mass ratio of core to wall material was 0.83:1, the waterborne wood coatings had a good comprehensive performance and less negative impact. In the scratch test, the waterborne wood coatings with a concentration of 10.0% microcapsule had good repair ability. The possibility of applying the self-repairing technology of microcapsule to waterborne wood coatings was discussed through the preparation and performance characterization of self-repairing coatings and the results can become a guideline for the engineering application of waterborne wood coatings.

Effect of Urea-Formaldehyde-Coated Epoxy Microcapsule Modification on Gloss, Toughness and Chromatic Distortion of Acrylic Copolymers Waterborne Coating

The modification experiment of waterborne coating was carried out by adding microcapsules. The wall material of the microcapsule was urea-formaldehyde resin and the core material of the microcapsule was epoxy resin. Core material can improve the toughness of the coating and prevent the cracking of the coating. The influences of different contents of microcapsules and the order of adding microcapsules in the coating process on the properties of gloss, color difference and toughness were studied. The results showed that the gloss of the waterborne coating decreased with the increase of microcapsule content. The color difference of coating increased first and then decreased, and when the microcapsule content was 8.0%, the color difference was the largest. The toughness of the coatings also increased first and then decreased. When the content of the microcapsule was 10.0%, the toughness of the coating was significantly enhanced. When the microcapsules with a content of 10.0% were added to the waterborne coating, under the same process, the coating gloss of microcapsules added to the primer was relatively high, and the coating gloss was the highest when the coating process was three-layer primer and two-layer topcoat. The microcapsule had little effect on the color difference of coating in different coating processes. When the coating process was three-layer primer and three-layer topcoat, the coating toughness was the best when microcapsules were added to the topcoats. This study provides a basis for industrial application of waterborne coatings to enhance their toughness.