Enhanced Anticorrosion of Waterborne Epoxy Coatings by Electrochemical Exfoliated Graphene Oxide

Abstract

With the increasingly strict control of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the research and application of waterborne coatings in the field of steel corrosion protection has been widely concerned. Graphene oxide (GO) and functionalized graphene are commonly used in waterborne epoxy coatings for enhanced anticorrosion. However, little attention has been paid to the effect of particle size of GO on the anticorrosion performance of composite coatings and the anticorrosion mechanism. Herein, the particle size and oxidation degree of GO were controlled by optimizing the current intensity of the electrochemical electrode. And the effects of particle size and oxidation degree of GO on the anticorrosion performance and adhesion strength of the composite coatings were also discussed. The results showed that both anticorrosion performance and adhesion strength of epoxy coatings increased with the decrease of particle size and the increase of oxidation degree. In addition, the anticorrosion mechanism of composite epoxy coating was revealed by Raman mapping and molecular dynamics simulation. Reducing the particle size and increasing the oxidation degree can reduce the steric hindrance effect of GO sheets and improve the anticorrosion performance of coatings. This work has theoretical significance for further improving the anticorrosion performance of GO-modified waterborne epoxy resin.

Keywords: Anticorrosion, Graphene oxide, waterborne epoxy coating, Molecular dynamics simulation, electrochemical synthesis