UV-cured self-replenishing hydrophobic polymer films

Self-healing functional polymer surfaces, designed with an intrinsic and spontaneous mechanism which replenishes the damaged surfaces with the original chemical functionalities, are of great interest to maintain a high performance of the functionality and extend the life-time of materials. We report self-replenishing UV-cured hydrophobic polymer films prepared through the incorporation of methacrylate-terminated perfluorinated-dangling chains into poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate) (PEGDA)-based networks. The films are able to spontaneously and fully self-replenish the surface hydrophobicity, multiple times, upon consecutive intentional damages. The rate of recovery was found to be dependent on the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the networks, which directly correlates to the PEG block length in the PEGDA oligomer used. This study demonstrates that an intrinsic self-replenishing mechanism can be implemented in new network architectures, created rapidly and efficiently by free radical UV-polymerization, which allows preparing self-healing functional polymer films in a faster and eco-friendlier way. [Display omitted] •Self-healing functional surfaces with high performance and extended life-time.•Rapid, efficient and eco-friendly self-replenishing UV-network architectures.•PEDGA-based networks with methacrylate-terminated perfluorinated-dangling chains.•Spontaneous recovery of surface hydrophobicity upon multiple/consecutive damages.•Rate of surface-functionality recovery dependent on network properties.