Self-antiglare waterborne coating with superior mechanical robustness and highly efficient room-temperature self-healing capability

Abstract

Polymeric antiglare coatings are suitable for use on flexible substrates but are vulnerable to accidental scratches and cuts. Presently, polymers which can automatically heal the damages, has been successfully developed. However, the room-temperature self-healing polymers with superior mechanical robustness are still formidable challenge to prepare and highly desirable. Reported herein is an self-antiglare waterborne poly(urea-urethane) (WPU) (the transparency and the 60° gloss are 91.4 % and 27.2, respectively) possessing the superior robust mechanical properties at room-temperature self-healing materials, with the tensile strength and toughness up to 11.0 MPa and 52.1 MJ m−3, respectively. For this purpose, aromatic disulfide containing two amino groups, which can offer a unique quadruple H-bond and a disulfide bond, were incorporated into the hard segment. Compared with linear-array H-bond, unique H-bond of zigzag array can undergo efficiency exchange at room temperature, inducing nearby disulfide metathesis. Therefore, the mechanical properties could be recovered to more than 83 % at room temperature after the sample was cut in half and reconnection. This finding can provide a novel insight into the research of robust room-temperature self-healing polymers and antiglare coatings.