Self-Healing Properties of Crosslinked PMMA-DVB Copolymer Microcapsules Based on Interfacial Polymerization

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Corrosion Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Offshore drilling platforms face significant metal corrosion challenges due to coating microcracks.
• Developing effective self-healing coatings is crucial for extending equipment service life and ensuring operational reliability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare and optimize self-healing microcapsules for epoxy coatings.
• To investigate the application of these microcapsules in preventing metal corrosion caused by coating defects.

Main Methods:

• Interfacial polymerization using methyl methacrylate (MMA), ammonium persulfate (APS), and divinylbenzene (DVB).
• Optimization of process parameters (emulsifier, ratios, speed, temperature) for microcapsule fabrication.
• Characterization using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, FT-IR, and TGA.

Main Results:

• Optimized microcapsules exhibited good sphericity, a smooth surface, and an average particle size of 35.17 μm.
• The microcapsules demonstrated effective core material encapsulation and good thermal stability.
• Epoxy coatings incorporating these microcapsules showed excellent self-healing properties.

Conclusions:

• The developed self-healing microcapsules offer a promising solution for mitigating metal corrosion in offshore platform coatings.
• These microcapsules can significantly improve the service life and reliability of coated steel structures.