Mussel-inspired long-term anticorrosion
A new study describes the mussel-inspired preparation of superhydrophobic mica nanosheets for long-term anticorrosion and self-healing performance of epoxy coatings.
Research and development of coatings with long-term corrosion resistance and self-healing capabilities remains an important and pressing topic in the field of metal corrosion protection. Adding functional fillers with superhydrophobicity and excellent polymer compatibility to the organic coating is an effective way to address this issue. In a new work, inspired by mussels, functional mica nanosheets (MNs) were successfully prepared by interacting catechol groups of natural urushiol (Ur) with the surface of MNs.
Long-term corrosion resistance
The synthesised MNs@Ur exhibited superhydrophobic properties and great dispersion in solvents and epoxy resin, making them ideal nanofillers for enhancing the anticorrosive performance of epoxy coatings. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results revealed that the obtained MNs@Ur/EP coatings had outstanding long-term corrosion resistance (>129 d). The impedance at low frequency (|Z|f=0.01 Hz) of the 0.5 wt% MNs@Ur/EP coating was maintained at >1010 Ω·cm2 after 52 d of immersion, which was approximately four orders of magnitude greater than that of the pure EP coating. More importantly, the scratch test demonstrated the self-healing ability of the MNs@Ur/EP coating.
The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 178, May 2023.
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