Shape memory, self-healing property, and NIR photothermal effect of epoxy resin coating with polydopamine@polypyrrole nanoparticles

Raspberry-like polydopamine@polypyrrole nanoparticles were synthesized by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization. Morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy, and photothermal conversion performance was investigated. A shape memory coating with self-healing ability was prepared based on a thermo-responsive shape memory epoxy resin that utilized polydopamine@polypyrrole nanoparticles as the photothermal agent. Damage to the coating was healed via 808 nm near infrared light. The healing performance was evaluated by comparing the macroscopic morphologies of the scratched and healed coatings via optical microscopy. Linear sweep voltammetry was used to assess the recovery of the coating’s barrier properties. The results confirmed that the coating had self-healing ability based on the photothermal conversion effect of the polydopamine@polypyrrole nanoparticles.