Surface modification of polypropylene with porous polyacrylamide/polydopamine composite coating.

• Polypropylene was surface functionalized with porous coating with polymerization induced phase separation. • Porous polyacrylamide coatings were loaded successfully on PP with mussel-inspired dopamine. • Polyacrylamide coating has better toughness and elasticity after dopamine modification. In this work, polyacrylamide/polydopamine (PAM/PDA) composite coating with porous structure is proposed for the polypropylene (PP) surface modification. Polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) method cooperated with mussel-inspired dopamine (DA) is all applied in this process. With the assistance of the DA, PAM coatings can firmly adhere to the PP surfaces. After adding dopamine, the Young's modulus of the PAM/PDA coating is decreased by two-thirds and the elastic modulus increased more than doubled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]