Multifunctional Ti3c2tx-Based Epoxy Composite Coating Towards Intelligent Response and Corrosion/Wear Resistance

Abstract

Realizing the multi-function of Ti3C2Tx-based epoxy composite coating by using nanocontainers is an important development trend in material protection. However, questions remain about the unreasonable collocation of Ti3C2Tx and nanocontainers resulting in performance degradation. Here, mesoporous SiO2 nanocontainers (SNT) containing both potassium thiocyanate and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) were loaded on MXene-based platform (SNT-on-MP) and acted as fillers to endow the water-borne epoxy coating (SNT-on-MP@EP) with the integrated functions of self-warning, self-healing, anti-corrosion and anti-wear. In the damaged area, the thiocyanate groups combined with Fe3+ ions to form a blood-red color display, and the formed coordination compound and CTAB as corrosion inhibitors were deposited on the metal substrate, thus showing intelligent response function. In 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution, the lowest-frequency impedance value of SNT-on-MP@EP was increased by two orders of magnitude compared with pure epoxy coating after 4 weeks of immersion because the well-dispersed SNT-on-MP established a robust physical barrier network against corrosion media and showed corrosion inhibition function. Under the reciprocating sliding friction, the wear rate of SNT-on-MP@EP was reduced by 58.29%, owing to the formation of lubricant film at the friction interface and the enhancement of the deformation resistance of the coating. The reasonable collocation of SNT and Ti3C2Tx-based platform eliminated the problem of weak interaction between traditional inorganic nanocontainer and water-based epoxy coating, thus giving full play to the advantages of both. This work provides an idea for the preparation of intelligent coatings and enriches the selection of coating materials.

Keywords: Ti3C2Tx-based epoxy coating, Collocation design, Anti-corrosion/wear, Intelligent response, Protection mechanism