Feedback active coatings based on incorporated nanocontainers

Abstract

Development of a new generation of multifunctional coatings, which will possess not only passive functionality but also active and rapid feedback activity in response to changes in the local environment, is a key technology for fabrication of future high-tech products and functional surfaces. These new multifunctional coatings should combine passive components inherited from “classical” coatings (barrier layers) and active components, which provide fast responses of the coating properties to changes occurring either in the passive matrix of multifunctional coatings (e.g., cracks, local pH change) or in the local environment surrounding the coating (temperature, humidity). The coatings should also have several functionalities (e.g., antifriction, antifungal, and anticorrosion) exhibiting synergistic effects.