Epoxy Microcapsules Research Articles

Microencapsulated single-component epoxies for self-healing of glass fiber reinforced polymers subjected to low-velocity impacts

This study aimed to investigate the potential of self-healing single-component epoxy microcapsules for improving the impact resistance and durability of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites. Microcapsules containing a single-component epoxy resin were synthesized using sodium lauryl sulfate and polyvinyl alcohol as stabilizing agents. The microcapsules were characterized, revealing an average size of 3.056 μm. GFRP composites embedded with 10 wt% of the synthesized microcapsules were prepared. The composites were subjected to low-velocity impacts at velocities of 3 m/s, 3.5 m/s, and 4 m/s. Residual flexural properties were evaluated using three-point bending tests. The impact resistance and self-healing efficiency of the GFRP composites showed significant improvement. The flexural after-impact strength exhibited considerable recovery post-impact. A healing efficiency of 61.1% was observed for specimens impacted at a velocity of 3 m/s. Incorporating microcapsules loaded with healing agents transforms GFRP composites into smart materials. The microcapsules act as microscopic primers, rupturing upon damage and releasing the healing agent to mitigate crack propagation and bolster structural integrity autonomously by extending the service life of the composite. The research provides valuable insights into optimizing the performance and durability of GFRP composites. Potential applications span across aerospace, automotive, and structural engineering domains.

Fabrication and assessment on morphological, thermal stability and self‐healing efficiency of microcapsule‐based jute/epoxy bio‐composites

AbstractIn this study, microcapsule‐based jute fiber reinforced epoxy self‐healing composites were fabricated using the vacuum bagging technique. Water‐soluble epoxy microcapsules were synthesized by the in‐situ polymerization method. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis showed that the substantial microcapsule size varies from 3 to 15 μm. Microcapsule of 3 wt.% amount was incorporated in the sample. Healing capability of the composite was assessed via impact strength recovery. Incorporating microcapsules within the cracked surface of the composite facilitated healing, demonstrating notable improvements in efficiency. Results indicated that the epoxy composite healed from a 1 mm deep crack exhibited higher impact strength recovery than samples healed from a 1.5 mm deep crack, with healing efficiencies of 83.9% and 78.89%, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra and energy dispersive x‐ray of the sample confirmed the presence of relevant chemical groups in both microcapsules and the composite. In thermogravimetric analysis, it is found a mass loss of 10.3% during the initial stage of decomposition, occurring between 180 and 250°C following the final phase of thermal degradation upto 500°C.Highlights Microcapsule‐based self‐healing jute/epoxy bio‐composite has been fabricated. 3 wt.% water‐soluble epoxy microcapsules were incorporated in sample preparation. Healing assessment was investigated using impact strength recovery method. Maximum 83.9% efficiency was measured for healing from pristine sample. Samples were undergone SEM, EDX, FT‐IR, and TGA analysis.

Hybrid Self‐Repairing Polymer Composites Based on a Mixture of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Self‐Healing

AbstractThe development of high‐strength and multiple self‐healing polymer materials remains a major challenge. In this study, a hybrid self‐healable polymer using the combination of intrinsic and extrinsic self‐healing is demonstrated. The epoxy resin microcapsules with dynamic disulfide bonded shells are successfully prepared through an interfacial polymerization method, which are then added into the intrinsically self‐healable epoxy resin substrate also containing disulfide bonds. The unique combination structure enables the polymer composites to exhibit high mechanical strength and excellent multiple self‐healing efficiency. On the one hand, the Young's modulus and tensile strength of the material are enhanced due to the reinforcement effect of the fillers. On the other hand, the extrinsic self‐healing strategy of the microcapsules, which released repair agents, can support the intrinsic repairing substrate to improve the self‐healing ability of the material. More interestingly, the design of the disulfide bond structure of the microcapsule shell contributes to the high self‐healing capability of the material during multiple self‐healing processes.

Synthesis of innovative epoxy resin and polyamine hardener microcapsules and their age monitoring by confocal Raman imaging

AbstractWe present an innovative breakthrough encompassing synthesis, characterization, and age monitoring of epoxy resin and polyamine hardener microcapsules to form a dual‐component system for self‐healing anticorrosion coatings. The epoxy resin microcapsules (ER‐MC) are fabricated through oil–water emulsion and in situ polymerization, with poly (urea‐formaldehyde‐melamine) as shell material and a mixture of epoxy resin and n‐butyl glycidyl ether as core material. Modified aliphatic fast reactive polyamine hardener is microencapsulated with polymethylmethacrylate as shell using double emulsion and solvent evaporation method (PAH‐MC). Characterization includes optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and particle size analyzer utilizing laser diffraction. The resulting microcapsules exhibited spherical shape with smooth surface devoid of porosity. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy‐attenuated total reflection is utilized to confirm encapsulation by identifying the chemical structures of both microcapsule constituents. The thermogravimetric analysis further confirms the core content of microcapsules obtained from solvent extraction. ER‐MC contains approximately 66 wt %, while PAH‐MC stands 40 wt %, both showcasing remarkable thermal stability below 200°C. A ten‐month storage period fails to diminish the presence of the healing agents encapsulated within the polymeric walls, which is revealed by Raman spectroscopy utilizing 2D compositional mapping. This research demonstrates the viability of creating dual microcapsules and exemplify their potential for developing self‐healing coatings with dual‐component film‐forming healing agents.

Preparation of fully epoxy resin microcapsules and their application in self-healing epoxy anti-corrosion coatings

Herein, an innovative self-healing epoxy coating with outstanding corrosion resistance has been developed. The self-healing capability of the coating is achieved by embedding microcapsules, comprising of solidified epoxy resin as the outer layer and liquid epoxy resin as the inner content. The chemical composition of the microcapsule wall is identical to that of the coating substrate, it is equivalent to injecting the liquid repair agent directly into the coating. Remarkably, due to the absence of any additional components in the coating system, the microcapsules seamlessly integrate with the resin matrix of the coating, showcasing exceptional compatibility.

Preparation of two‐component micro‐encapsulated epoxy self‐healing materials based on Pickering emulsion method

AbstractThe use of microencapsulated self‐healing materials has been widely applied in many fields, while factors (e.g., the size and content of the microcapsules) markedly affect the mechanical properties of the self‐healing material. In this study, an epoxy‐amine microencapsulated self‐healing material was developed through Pickering emulsion to reduce the effects of the above‐mentioned factors. In this study, the Pickering emulsion was stabilized using two two‐dimensional (2D) materials (i.e., GO and BN), and epoxy microcapsules and amine microcapsules were prepared, with average size of 3.62 and 4.63 μm, respectively. FTIR spectroscopy was used to identify the presence of characteristic PU peaks in the microcapsules, and the bilayer shell microcapsules were well‐prepared. To prepare the binary epoxy resin self‐healing material, two microcapsules were added to the epoxy resin matrix and its mechanical properties were analyzed. Based on the test results, it was suggested that the addition of microcapsules in this study slightly affected the mechanical properties of the material, and the binary self‐healing material still exhibited 89% of the bending stress below the 10 wt% content of the microcapsules. In addition, the tensile stress after repair was 148% of that before. These materials have promising applications in many areas (e.g., engineering technology).

Eco-friendly reversible photochromic epoxy resin microcapsules with strong acid and alkali resistance for energy storage via facile in-situ microencapsulation

Multi-functional microcapsule considered as a promising technique is attracting more and more attention with social development. This study successfully prepared four kinds of eco-friendly epoxy resin microcapsules both with reversible photochromic and energy storage properties via in-situ polymerization. For the microcapsules, methyl palmitate (MP), which dissolves photochromic dyes (spiropyran), was used as the core material, and four epoxy resins (EP) with various molecular structured were selected as the shell material. The properties such as thermal stability, energy storage, surface morphology and UV absorption technology of these designed microcapsules were systematically investigated by thermogravimetric (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and UV–vis spectrophotometer, etc. Allowing the selection of microcapsules with mentioned properties for specific environments. The results show that hydrogenated bisphenol A epoxy resin (CYDH-3000) microcapsules possessed lower activation energy and higher UV absorption. The thermal stability of bisphenol A epoxy resin (E51) microcapsules was as high as 328.4 °C. While Bisphenol F epoxy resin (NP170) microcapsules have the highest energy storage efficiency (E = 91.45 %). The lower subcooling degree of hain epoxy resin (MHR-050) microcapsules reached 20.3 °C, showing promising application prospects in the thermo-regulated field. Meanwhile, these four epoxy resin microcapsules can retain specific shapes and photochromic phenomena with little enthalpy change in 10 % H2SO4 and 10 % NaOH environments due to the corrosion resistance of epoxy resins, which establishing the technical foundation for its application in viscose spinning.

An Amino Acid Grafted Graphene Oxide as Promising Material in Poly(urea-formaldehyde)-Epoxy Microcapsules for Enhancing the Interfacial Adhesion of Epoxy Coatings

Novel microencapsulated materials with superior anti-corrosion properties and improved adhesive strength on the metal substrate were produced by emulsion polymerization and characterized successfully. Initially, serine grafted graphene oxide was prepared and characterized through various sophisticated techniques. Then, MC-GO/epoxy and MC-GO-Ser were individually impregnated into th epoxy system and applied on the mild steel substrates. Corrosion tests were performed to evaluate the non-corrosive nature of MC-GO/epoxy and MC-GO-Ser/epoxy samples. After 7 days of exposure in saline media, MC-GO-Ser microcapsules demonstrated 80.6 % protective efficiency. Furthermore, the peel strength of 2.90 N revealed that the coating loaded with MC-GO-Ser microcapsules had improved adherence to the mild steel surface. Results of urea-formaldehyde GO-Ser microcapsules showed better corrosion protection and greater adhesive strength, which is probably because of the exceptional barrier action of microcapsules against the incursion of corrosion solution onto the mild steel surface.

Preparation of Melamine-Formaldehyde Resin/Rice Husk Powder Coated Epoxy Resin Microcapsules and Effects of Different Microcapsule Contents on the Properties of Waterborne Coatings on Tilia europaea Surface

With the development of economy and science and technology, people put forward higher standards for the performance of the surface coating of wood products, which requires us to carry out innovative research on the coating. In this work, a kind of microcapsule was prepared with melamine-formaldehyde resin/rice husk powder as wall material and epoxy resin as core material. The microcapsules were added to the waterborne acrylic resin coating according to the contents of 0%, 1.0%, 4.0%, 7.0%, 10.0%, 13.0%, 16.0% and 20.0% respectively, and were coated on the surface of the Tilia europaea boards in the form of topcoat. The effects of different contents of microcapsules on the optical properties, mechanical properties and aging resistance of the coating were explored, and the optimal content that can effectively improve the properties of the coating was analyzed. Test results indicated that when the microcapsule content is 7.0%, the comprehensive properties of the coating is optimal. At this time, the color difference of the coating is 6.96, the gloss at 60° is 13.4%, the hardness is 2H, the adhesion grade is 1, and the impact resistance is 12.0 kg·cm. After the aging test, the gloss loss rate decreases, the color difference is 5.69, and the gloss at 60° is 11.6%. The results of aging test show that the coating with epoxy microcapsules has a certain self-healing function. In this study, the microcapsules which can optimize the mechanical properties waterborne coating and prolong the service life of wood were prepared. This can meet the diverse needs of consumers, supply a theoretical reference for the preparation of functional microcapsules, and provide reference value for the functional research of the coating on wood furniture surface.

Preparation and investigation of self-healing cementitious composite based on DMTDA - epoxy binary microcapsules system

Cement-based material are prone to cracks. Self-healing concrete appealed to extensive discussion owing to its crack-healing functions without human intervene. In this study, epoxy resin microcapsules and dimethyl thio-toluene diamine microcapsules (DMTDA microcapsules) were prepared successfully based on different mechanisms. Both of the microcapsules were spherical with favorable dispersion and good thermal stability. The effects of microcapsules on the fluidity, compressive strength and open porosity of self-healing cementitious composite were investigated, and the self-healing performance was characterized by microscopic observation of the repairable width of single cracks. It turned out that the fluidity and compressive strength of the self-healing cementitious composite decreased gradually with the increase of the concentration of microcapsules. The open porosity of self-healing cementitious composite hydrated for 28 days decreased by 19.1% when the concentration of microcapsules was 9.0% by weight. Ultimately, the single cracks with width below 40 μm could be repaired completely when self-healing cementitious composite was hydrated for 7 days.

Epoxy microcapsules for high-performance self-healing materials using a novel method via integrating electrospraying and interfacial polymerization

The high-efficiency fabrication of high-quality microcapsules containing epoxy is crucial to the further development of the potential practical self-healing epoxy systems based on microencapsulated two-part epoxy-amine chemistry. Herein, a novel microencapsulation technique based on non-equilibrium droplets via integrating electrospraying and interfacial polymerization (ES-IP) was established to efficiently microencapsulate epoxy monomers. The ES-IP technique, consisting of three continuous steps, i.e. electrospraying to massively generate droplets, enwrapping every single droplet through instant interfacial polymerization, and thickening shell at an elevated temperature, has great flexibility to regulate the microencapsulation process and the microcapsule quality. The fabricated core-shell structured epoxy microcapsules (Ep-MCs) were comprehensively characterized for their properties, showing that they have high cleanness with rare impurities, controllable and tunable size, good thermal stability and tightness, and high effective core fraction. The high-quality Ep-MCs were adopted to formulate a self-healing epoxy based on the microencapsulated epoxy-amine chemistry. The highest healing efficiency, in terms of the recovered mode I fracture toughness, of 110±17% was achieved after being healed at room temperature (∼25 ℃) for 48 h. While the developed ES-IP technique facilitates the microencapsulation technique based on non-equilibrium droplets, the fabricated high-quality Ep-MCs greatly promote the further developments of the practical self-healing materials.

Bio-based alternative for encapsulating fragrance oils in epoxy resin microcapsules

There is increased pressure on microcapsule manufacturers to develop microcapsules following green chemistry principles and using safe biobased materials. Diphenolic acid, prepared from cellulose-derived levulinic acid and phenol, was used as a replacement for bisphenol-A. The resulting diepoxy resin diglycidyl ether diphenolate methyl ester (DGEDP-methyl ester) was incorporated in the fragrance oil and reacts with hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) to build capsule walls by interfacial polymerization. The biobased emulsifier gum arabic at 2.5 wt% was found to provide good capsule formation. The effect of DGEDP-methyl ester/HMDA ratios on various capsule properties was studied. A low HMDA concentration at 0.75 wt% yields deformed capsules with lower microencapsulation efficiency (EE< 90%) and lower stability (oil leaking > 26.3% after acid treatment, and > 87.2% after sonication). A medium HMDA concentration (1 wt%) with 2–4 wt% DGEDP-methyl ester generates spherical capsules with higher EE (91.2–96.5%) and improved stability (oil leaking was < 20.3% after acid treatment, and < 76% after sonication). Increasing the content of HMDA to 1.25 wt% along with ≥ 2 wt% DGEDP-methyl ester led to extensive aggregation with a slight increase in EE at the expense of capsule stability. These observations demonstrate that DGEDP-methyl ester/HMDA interfacial polymerization is a promising biobased alternative for isocyanate and formaldehyde approaches for oil encapsulation.

Bio-based epoxy/imidoamine encapsulated microcapsules and their application for high performance self-healing coatings

This study reports the synthesis of rosin-based epoxy and imidoamine curing agent encapsulated microcapsules for self-healing coatings. The microcapsules were prepared through an in-situ polymerization technique and were characterized via particle size analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The core content analysis was done using the extraction method and further verified via FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The stability of synthesized microcapsules was evaluated by solvent wash testing and thermal degradation analysis using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The self-healing coatings were applied on mild steel specimens using rosin-based epoxy/imidoamine containing 10 wt% & 20 wt% epoxy microcapsules and both 10 wt% epoxy & 10 wt% curing agent microcapsules. The self-healing effect was examined by applying artificial scratches to the prepared coatings which displayed healing of the scratched planes within 24 h. Also, salt spray, adhesion, and tensile tests were conducted on the coated specimens with and without microcapsules to determine the chemical resistance and mechanical strength of self-healing coatings. The epoxy/imidoamine coating containing both 10 wt% epoxy & 10 wt% curing agent microcapsules exhibited preeminent performance among all.

Fabrication of urea formaldehyde–epoxy resin microcapsules for the preparation of high self‐healing ability containing SBS modified asphalt

AbstractAsphalt exhibits self‐healing ability, though at a lower rate. In this study, urea formaldehyde–epoxy resin (UFE) microcapsules were prepared using polyurea formaldehyde as the wall and epoxy resin as the core material, which were in turn applied to fabricate UFE–styrene butadiene styrene modified asphalt (abbreviated as UBS asphalt). Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed well‐coated microcapsules have globular geometry with obvious folds in the wall. Ductility test showed 90% higher healing rate of UBS asphalt than pure styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) modified asphalt. Dynamic shear rheometer and multi‐stress creep recovery tests indicated that UFE microcapsule incorporation can improve the viscoelasticity, high temperature stability, and permanent deformation resistance of pure SBS modified asphalt attributed to the even distribution of UFE microcapsules in asphalt and their better mutual compatibility, which was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy. At 100 and 3200 Pa, the recovery rate of 0.4% UBS asphalt was 32.1% and 71.7% higher than that of the original SBS modified asphalt, respectively. UFE microcapsule and asphalt only physically interacted as confirmed by Fourier infrared spectroscopy analysis. This study provides a feasible alternative approach for the preparation of UBS asphalt with enhanced mechanical properties and thermal stability for applications in construction and highway industries.

Fabrication and Property Regulation of Small-Size Polyamine Microcapsules via Integrating Microfluidic T-Junction and Interfacial Polymerization.

The self-healing system based on microencapsulated epoxy-amine chemistry is currently the self-healing system with the most practical application potential. It can be widely used in many epoxy-based materials with a size restriction for the microcapsules, such as fiber-reinforced composites, anti-corrosion coatings, etc. Although epoxy microcapsules of different sizes can be fabricated using different techniques, the preparation of polyamine microcapsules with suitable sizes and good performance is the prerequisite for further developing this self-healing system. In this investigation, based on the novel microencapsulation technique via integrating microfluidic T-junction and interfacial polymerization, the feasibility of preparing small-size polyamine microcapsules and the process regulation to optimize the properties of the small-size microcapsules were studied. We show that polyamine microcapsules with sizes smaller than 100 μm can be obtained through the T-junction selection and the feeding rate control of the polyamine. To regulate the small-size microcapsules’ quality, the effects of the concentration of the shell-forming monomer and the solvent with different polarity in the reaction solution and the reaction condition were studied. It shows that dry, free-flowing small-size microcapsules can still be obtained when the shell-forming monomer concentration is higher and the solvent’s polarity is lower, compared with the preparation of larger polyamine microcapsules. Although the change of reaction conditions (reaction temperature and duration) has a certain effect on the microcapsules’ effective core content, it is relatively small. The results of this investigation further promote the potential application of the self-healing systems based on microencapsulated epoxy-amine chemistry in materials with a size restriction for the microcapsules.

Effect of epoxy resin healing agent viscosity on the self-healing performance of capsules reinforced polymer composite

The structural integrity of micro and nano cracked polymer composites can be re-established without human intervention by employing biologically inspired capsule based self-healing system into the base material. In the present study, in order to evaluate the influence of core materials viscosity on the self-healing performance, two types of epoxy resins (LY556, CY230) of respective viscosities 10-12 Pa.s, 1.3-2 Pa.s and amine hardener (HY951) of viscosity 0.01–0.02 Pa.s were chosen and encapsulated in a thermoplastic poly methylmethacrylate (PMMA) shell. The mean capsule size of the developed LY556 epoxy,CY230 epoxy microcapsules and HY951 hardener microcapsules were measured as 61.58 µm, 67.64 µm and 63.31 µm respectively. Influence of core to shell(c/s) ratio on the preparation of epoxy capsules was investigated and 1:1 c/s ratio, 2:1 c/s ratios were recommended as an ideal ratios to prepare LY556, CY230 epoxy capsules respectively. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and thermogravimetric(TGA) analysis were conducted. Tensile strength, fracture toughness and self-healing performance of the (LY556 + HY951) capsules, (CY230 + HY951) capsules reinforced epoxy composites were investigated. It was noticed that the tensile strength decreases and the fracture toughness increases with the increase in capsules concentration from 0wt% to 10wt%. In both the cases, it was found that the healing efficiency increased with the increase in capsules content. For both (LY556 + HY951) capsules reinforced, (CY230 + HY951) capsules reinforced epoxy composites an optimum capsules concentration was found to be at 7.5wt% and the respective measured healing efficiencies were noted as 66% and 72%.

Anti-corrosion coating using prepared binary self-healing epoxy microcapsules

Self-healing materials possess the capacity to repair or mend themselves either by inherent response or under external stimuli and one of the most important approaches in self-healing is encapsulation. In this study, poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) microcapsules containing epoxy resin and amine hardener have been successfully synthesized via solvent evaporating technique with core/shell ratio of 1:1, agitation speed 500 rpm, temperature of 40 °C and 3% wt. of surfactant concertation. The synthesized system is binary for self-healing anti-corrosion coating purposes. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Optical microscope (OM), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the microcapsules and monitor the healing process. A corrosion resistance test has been done for a stainless steel substrate after coated with epoxy mixed with four percentages (0, 10, 15, and 20 wt. %) of equal quantities from prepared microcapsules (resin/hardener). The results showed that the corrosion of the coated specimen decrease with increasing microcapsules percentage which indicates that the self-healing system worked successfully.

Self‐healing performance assessment of epoxy resin and amine hardener encapsulated polymethyl methacrylate microcapsules reinforced epoxy composite

AbstractIn order to study the effect of healing materials viscosity on the self‐healing performance of polymer composite, mostly available epoxy resin of viscosity 10–12 Pa.s and amine hardener of viscosity 0.01–0.02 Pa.s were chosen as two different healing materials and successfully encapsulated. Effect of core to shell(c/s) ratio on the synthesis of epoxy microcapsules was investigated and 1:1 c/s ratio is suggested as an ideal ratio to synthesize epoxy capsules. Chemical structure and thermal decomposition patterns of both microcapsules and capsules reinforced composite were analyzed. Tensile strength, impact strength and fracture toughness of capsules reinforced self‐healing epoxy composite were evaluated. It was observed that the toughness of epoxy composite increased with the increase in microcapsules concentration. An optimum healing efficiency of 66% was observed with the addition of 7.5 wt% epoxy and hardener microcapsules at equal weight ratio. Stresses developed in the pure epoxy composite crack front were analyzed using Ansys V18.1.

Dual microcapsules based epoxy/polyethyleneimine autonomous self‐healing system for photo‐curable coating

Self‐healing coatings were fabricated by adding two different epoxy and polyethyleneimine microcapsules to epoxy‐polyester acrylate resin. The first capsule contained polyethyleneimine and the second capsule contained a commercial epoxy resin. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) microcapsules were prepared by filling PEI into hollow poly(melamine‐urea‐formaldehyde) (PMUF)‐shelled polymeric microcapsules. Epoxy microcapsules were prepared by coating with a poly(urea‐formaldehyde) (PUF)‐shelled material using in‐situ polymerization. Using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the healing agent contents of the microcapsules for epoxy and PEI were determined to be 55% and 49%, respectively. Moreover, using a zeta‐sizer, the mean sizes of the microcapsules for epoxy/PUF and PEI/PMUF were determined to be 185 nm and 377 nm, respectively. Both capsule types were added to the epoxy‐polyester acrylate‐based photo‐curable coating formulation in the amount of 2% by weight. The coating formulation was applied to plexiglass surface, then cured with UV light and artificial scratches were made on the coating surface. At the end of day two, the SEM images revealed that coating successfully self‐healed the scratch.

Effect of MF-Coated Epoxy Resin Microcapsules on Properties of Waterborne Wood Coating on Basswood

In this paper, melamine–formaldehyde (MF) was used as the wall material, and epoxy resin was used as the core material to prepare microcapsules. The optical properties, mechanical properties and ageing resistance of waterborne topcoat were investigated by adding different mass fractions of microcapsules into the waterborne topcoat. Through scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy analysis, the prepared microcapsules of core-wall ratio of 0.50 were more uniform. It was found that when the mass fraction of microcapsules is less than 10.0% and the core–wall ratio is 0.50, the original color difference of the coating can be maintained. With the increase in microcapsule mass fraction, the gloss of the topcoat film gradually decreases. The mass fraction of the microcapsule of 4.0% with the core–wall ratio of 0.50 can maintain the original gloss of 30.0 GU. The topcoat film with the MF-coated epoxy resin microcapsules of the core–wall ratio of 0.50 has high impact resistance, adhesion and hardness. The results showed that the gloss loss and color difference of the coating with the MF-coated epoxy microcapsules were the lowest when the mass fraction of microcapsules was 4.0%, indicating that microcapsules can improve the stability of coating. These results lay a technical foundation for the development and application of high-performance wood coatings.