Microencapsulation of tris(dimethylaminomethyl)phenol using polystyrene shell for self-healing materials

The self-healing function of the polymer material has been realized by the microencapsulation technology of the healing agent. A novel microcapsule contained tris(dimethylaminomethyl)phenol (DMP-30) with polystyrene as shell material was prepared via solvent evaporation technique in a W/O/W emulsion. Two key strategies were implemented to prepare the microcapsules successfully. First, a small amount of deionized water was added into DMP-30 to form a complex, and a stable W/O emulsion was successfully prepared. The second one is to form a stable W/O/W emulsion system with the high viscosity aqueous solution added with Arabia gum and surfactants as the third phase. In addition, the influencing factors of microcapsules preparation were investigated systematically. The chemical structure of DMP-30 microcapsule was investigated by Fourier transform infrared. The morphology and shell thickness of the microcapsules were observed by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. The reactivity of the core material was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The thermal properties of microcapsules were studied by thermogravimetric analysis. The environmental resistance of microcapsules was verified by the isothermal aging test. Results showed that DMP-30 was successfully coated by polystyrene and the microcapsule size was in the range of 2–40 μm. The synthesized microcapsules were thermally stable below 50 °C.