Liquid
metal (LM) catalysts have been demonstrated to accelerate
chemical reactions, providing an intriguing route to fine chemical
synthesis with immense technological implications. Herein, we explore
gallium-based LMs as catalysts to promote the oxidative self-polymerization
of natural polyphenols, an emerging class of natural building blocks
for surface functionalization with diverse biochemical properties.
The oxidative polymerization of polyphenols, triggered by eutectic
alloy of gallium and indium, results in nanocoatings with remarkably
high reaction kinetics. The oxidative polymerization occurs in a wide
pH range including an acidic environmenta condition previously
unexplored for the deposition of phenolic coatings. The LM triggers
the generation of highly active radical species from the oxidant causing
the rapid oxidation of the polyphenols and their subsequent deposition
on a range of different substrates. We further show that the LM-based
catalytic system addresses several other limitations of existing coating
methods including a narrow pH range, substrate specificity (precursor–dependent),
and low coating uniformity. Finally, we demonstrate that the phenolic
nanocoatings obtained from the acidic pH environment have excellent
antioxidant and antibacterial properties without requiring any post-functionalization
step. This process for creating phenolic nanocoatings may find applications
in a wide range of industries, food science, and biomedicine.