Developments and Challenges in Self‐Healing Antifouling Materials

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 30; no. 26
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhanhua, Scheres, Luc, Xia, Hesheng, Zuilhof, Han
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2020
• Subjects: Antifouling; antifouling materials; Healing; Hydrogels; Materials science; oil/water separation; self‐healing materials; self‐replenishing surface; zwitterionic materials
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201908098

Self‐healing antifouling materials have gained rapidly increasing interest over the past decade and have been studied and used in a rapidly increasing range of applications. Recent developments and challenges in self‐healing antifouling materials are summarized in four sections: first, the different mechanisms for both antifouling and self‐healing are briefly discussed. Second, three main categories of self‐healing antifouling materials based on surface replenishing and dynamic covalent and noncovalent interactions are discussed, with a focus on the preparation, characterization, and central characteristics of different self‐healing antifouling materials. Third, different types of potential applications of self‐healing antifouling materials are summarized, such as injectable hydrogels and oil/water separations. Finally, a summary of future development of the field is provided, and a number of critical limitations that are still outstanding are highlighted. Recent developments and challenges in self‐healing antifouling materials including the mechanisms of fouling, different classes of self‐healing, antifouling materials, and potential applications are summarized. A perspective on where this field is developing is then provided.