Bioinspired self-healing, superliquiphobic and self-cleaning hydrogel-coated surfaces with high durability

Abstract

<jats:p>Bioinspired self-healing materials are being developed with intrinsic or extrinsic mechanisms. Some materials heal by an external stimulus, such as heat, UV light, pH, electric field and humidity. Hydrogels are among the commonly used materials, which can self-heal by application of an external stimulus. In this study, a self-healing polyacrylamide hydrogel was selected which is known to swell when exposed to water and heal. Silica nanoparticles were added to the hydrogel and a fluorosilane overcoat was used to produce a superliquiphobic surface with a low tilt angle and self-cleaning properties. A fused titania coating on the glass substrate was used to promote adhesion to hydrogel coatings. Hydrogel-based coatings exhibited the ability to repel water and oil, anti-icing properties down to −60°C, self-cleaning, the ability to maintain superliquiphobicity in hot environments up to about 95°C and high wear resistance. The hydrogel-based coating also demonstrated self-healing capability after hydration of a scratched surface.</jats:p> <jats:p>This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bioinspired materials and surfaces for green science and technology (part 2)’.</jats:p>

Recent advances in self‐healing materials for food packaging

“…Currently, the self-healing ability of packaging materials can be categorized into two types: intrinsic and extrinsic. 11 The intrinsic selfhealing process is performed based on the reconstruction of chemical bonding of the matrix itself, including dynamic non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonds, 12 host-guest interaction, 13 Honoured invited review by Editor in Chief.…”

“…This discussion contributed significantly to the exchange of knowledge and accelerated the development of self‐healing materials. Currently, the self‐healing ability of packaging materials can be categorized into two types: intrinsic and extrinsic 11 . The intrinsic self‐healing process is performed based on the reconstruction of chemical bonding of the matrix itself, including dynamic non‐covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonds, 12 host–guest interaction, 13 electrostatic interaction, 14 π‐π stacking, 15 and dynamic covalent interactions such as imine bonds, 16 acylhydrazone bonds, 17 Diels‐Alder reaction, 18 retro‐Diels‐Alder reactions, 19 and so forth.…”