Microwave-Accelerated Rapid, Chemical Oxidant-Free, Material-Independent Surface Chemistry of Poly(dopamine)

A simple strategy for the rapid preparation of multifunctional polydopamine (pDA) coatings is demonstrated. Microwave irradiation of the coating solution enables the formation of a ≈18 nm thick, genuine pDA coating in 15 min, which is ≈18 times faster than conventional coating. The acceleration effect results from the radical generation and temperature increase, which facilitate thermally accelerated radical polymerization of dopamine.