Self‐healing waterborne polyurethane coating by pH‐dependent triggered‐release mechanism.

In this study, effect of high‐loaded silica capsules with corrosion inhibitor on thermal degradation and self‐healing properties of waterborne polyurethane (WPU) was investigated. Silica capsules were synthesized using an oil in water (O/W) microemulsion and WPU was prepared via the prepolymer method. Assembled capsules demonstrated pH dependent release of their core. Incorporating silica capsule as an inorganic component resulted to improve thermal and barrier properties of WPU coatings. WPU coating with 1% silica capsules demonstrated better barrier quality in corrosive media and adding more than that resulted a rapid deterioration in barrier properties. Furthermore, such coatings possess an excellent adhesive strength with steel substrate. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used in corrosion monitoring and healing procedure. Moreover, capsule morphology and thermal degradation of the WPU coating has been investigated separately by scanning electron microscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47082. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]