Phosphorylated microcapsules containing natural oil for potential self-healing use

This work reports on the preparation of oil-filled microcapsules for self-healing purposes. Biopolymeric microcapsules loaded with vegetable oils as green corrosion inhibitors were formulated using ethyl cellulose and phosphorylated ethyl cellulose as encapsulating materials. Chemical structure, thermal stability and surface morphology of microcapsules were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR and TGA analysis confirmed the presence of oil core and polymer shell in the formulated microcapsules. The scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate the shape and morphology of the prepared microcapsules. The obtained results revealed the spherical-like shape of the obtained capsules with diameters ranging from 10 up to 170 µm. Thus, the current study shows the potential application of phosphorylated ethyl cellulose for the development of new environmentally friendly microcontainers bearing corrosion inhibitors for end use in anti-corrosion self-healing coatings.