Thermoplastic polymer-based nanocoatings

Nanoscale coating usually refers to different kinds of surface coating, which could be either a homogeneous material film of nanometric thickness or a composite material where one of the components is in a nanoscale dimension, generally known as a nanocomposite coating. Thermoplastic polymer-based nanoscale coatings (TPBNCs) usually refer to either a nanocomposite coating consisting of two different phases, namely, the thermoplastic resin matrix and the nanoscale reinforcing agents (i.e., nanoparticles), or a homogeneous polymeric coating with a thickness in nanoscale range. TPBNCs have numerous potential applications in various fields of technology such as aerospace, automotive, energy, construction, household appliances, building furniture, commodity electronics, armed forces, and biomedical applications. TPBNCs enhance material stability and corrosion protection of the original material with several other functional characteristics, such as hydrophobicity, flame retardancy, self-cleaning, antifouling, antibacterial and self-healing ability, transparency, adhesion, ultraviolet (UV) stability, and low infrared emissivity. TPBNCs have seen extensive use and extensive study over the past few decades. Various TPBNCs, processing techniques, and desirable characteristics and applications are presented in this chapter. A comprehensive discussion of the effect of nanostructured materials incorporation on the properties is provided. The combination of organic and inorganic materials into hybrid composites plays the pivotal role in developing peculiar properties without compromising the original properties of constituent materials.