Self-healing organic coatings – Fundamental chemistry to commercial application

Abstract

Organic coatings are susceptible to damage in the form of cracking, leading to the decline and ultimate failure of functionality, and incurring enormous repair costs. Self-healing coatings are coatings which can heal damage spontaneously, without external diagnosis or intervention, and promise high performance and outstanding durability. This review summarizes and evaluates the current state of self-healing organic coatings, from foundational studies to the most recent, highly optimized designs. Focus is given to the underlying chemistry of self-healing, the diverse set of self-healing strategies, their relative strengths and weaknesses, and the feasibility of self-healing organic coatings in wider commercial applications.