Abstract
Two issues are required to be solved to bring intrinsically self-healing polymer coatings into real applications: remote activation and satisfied practical properties. Here, we used MXene, a newly reported two-dimensional material, to provide an epoxy coating with light-induced self-healing capabilities and we worked to enhance the properties of that coating. The self-healing coatings had a reversible crosslinking network based on the Diels-Alder reaction among maleimide groups from bis(4-maleimidopheny)methane and dangling furan groups in oligomers that were prepared through the condensation polymerization of diglycidylether of bisphenol A and furfurylamine. The results showed that the delaminated MXene flakes were small in size, around 900 nm, and dispersed well in self-healing coatings. The MXene flakes of only 2.80 wt % improved greatly the pencil hardness of the coating hardness from HB to 5H and the polarization resistance from 4.3 to 428.3 MΩ cm−2. The self-healing behavior, however, was retarded by MXene flakes. Leveling agent acted a key part here to facilitate the gap closure driven by reverse plasticity to compensate for the limitation of macromolecular mobility resulting from the MXene flakes. The self-healing of coatings was achieved in 30 s by thermal treatment at 150 °C. The efficient self-healing was also demonstrated based on the recovery of the anti-corrosion capability. MXene flakes also played an evident photothermal role in generating heat via irradiation of near-infrared light at 808 nm and focused sunlight. The healing can be quickly obtained in 10 s under irradiation of near-infrared light at 808 nm having a power density of 6.28 W cm−2 or in 10 min under irradiation of focused sunlight having a power density of 4.0 W cm−2.
Highlights
Self-healing polymer coatings have attracted academic and industrial interest in last several decades because their ability to recover aesthetic appearance and performance from a damaged status can greatly prolong service life and improve cost efficiency [1,2,3,4]
The results suggested that mechanical and electrochemical corrosion properties of such self-healing epoxy coating are comparable with conventional epoxy coatings with irreversible networks
MAX-phase powders are named as the un-delaminated MXene
Summary
Self-healing polymer coatings have attracted academic and industrial interest in last several decades because their ability to recover aesthetic appearance and performance from a damaged status can greatly prolong service life and improve cost efficiency [1,2,3,4]. A great deal of effort has been made to create delaminating multilayered MXene that presents excellent mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity [23,24]. MXene has been introduced to create novel polymer composites having enhanced properties [24,25]. A thermally induced self-healing epoxy coating with fully reversible crosslinking networks was created based on DA reactions [30]. In the present work, MXene was used as the multifunctional filler to further improve the practical properties of the reported polymer coatings and to realize the remotely stimulation of the intrinsic self-healing. MXene was delaminated and characterized before its effects on the mechanical and anti-corrosion properties of polymer coatings were investigated. Near-infrared light and sunlight were used to demonstrate the feasibility of self-healing in a remote manner
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