Near-Infrared-Light-Modulated Lubricating Coating Enabled by Photothermal Microgels

Zhuo Chen, Yang Feng, Nan Zhao, Yining Liu, Guoqiang Liu, Feng Zhou, Weimin Liu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

As a micro-/nano-sized hydrogel, polymeric microgel not only has three-dimensional (3D) molecular networks but also displays the small-size effect, which has been widely used in various fields, such as drug nanocarrier, photonic crystal, functional coating, and aqueous lubrication. In this work, a photothermal lubricating coating was prepared using polymeric/inorganic hybrid microgels and its surficial friction was deliberately modulated by the remote irradiation of near-infrared (NIR) light. Specifically, a photothermal hybrid microgel, Fe3O4@poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-polyacrylic acid) (Fe3O4@PNA), was first fabricated and then sprayed onto poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI)-modified substrate to form a lubricating microgel coating. At room temperature, this microgel coating was hydrophilic and achieved good hydration lubrication with relatively low friction. After the introduction of NIR light, the photothermal microgel coating converted light energy into heat energy for increasing its own temperature rapidly. Due to the thermosensitive PNA shell, the wettability of the coating was transformed to hydrophobicity above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), resulting in a remarkable increase in friction. In other words, the surficial friction of this microgel coating could be reversibly modulated using NIR light. This work expands the application scope of microgels in the field of aqueous lubrication and introduces the functional microgels into making the smart lubricating coating for the first time. This basic research in the field of friction control may provide an efficient strategy for the design of interfacial sensing, controlled transmission, and intelligent manipulator.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)49322-49330
Number of pages9
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume13
Issue number41
DOIs
StatePublished - 20 Oct 2021

Keywords

  • friction modulation
  • functional microgels
  • NIR light
  • photothermal lubricating coating
  • thermosensitive

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