Self-healing polymers have been demonstrated using several approaches: reversible hydrogen bonding, metal chelation, thermoplastic melting, and microencapsulation. Unfortunately, most require manual intervention. Microcapsules, with their reserve of polymerizable material that releases when scratched, allow one to design a fully autonomous self-healing system. Herein, we present a method to produce microcapsules that contain both self-healing and anti-corrosion components, which can then be incorporated into a matrix coating. The microcapsules were formed through an oil-in-water interfacial polymerization, which generated liquid filled spherical particles on the size of 20-40 �m. When added to a commercial primer, they protected scratches up to 3 mm wide. The protection lasted 6 weeks in a salt-fog chamber, whereas conventional zinc-rich coatings began rusting in weeks, and standard coatings began rusting in hours. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy demonstrated recovery within an order of magnitude of the original impedance when the microcapsules comprised only 10% of the coating volume.

Silane encapsulated microcapsules for use in self-healing coatings

245th National Meeting (2013)

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