Mussel inspired improvement of epoxy resin
A new study describes the preparation of bio-inspired liquid-infused surface on epoxy resin coating for reliable hydrophobic and anti-corrosion properties.
Epoxy resin (ER) is commonly used as an anti-corrosion coating, but the hydrophilicity hinders its effectiveness. Although liquid-infused surface (LIS) has shown promise in enhancing the hydrophobicity, its reliability is compromised because of the vulnerability of the modified layer. To address the above challenges, a mussels inspired LIS (BI-LIS), which had an improved modified layer, was prepared on ER. In preparation, by adding modified mineral oil, consisting of the hydrolysed modifier and mineral oil, dropwise onto the textured ER and placing it for 3 days, the BI-LIS specimen could be obtained.
Improved properties
Not only did BI-LIS specimen exhibit improved hydrophobic and anti-corrosion properties than pristine ER, but more importantly, it possessed the capability to restore the modified layer by the re-absorption of modifier molecules, which could response to the damage of modified layer and enhance the reliability of LIS.
The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 184, November 2023.
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