Electrochemical properties of graphene/epoxy coating

T. Monetta, A. Acquesta, F. Bellucci

University of Naples Federico II, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Materials and
Industrial Production, Naples, Italy
In recent years graphene has attracted growing attention in both academic and
industrial field owing to its exceptional thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties.
In particular, the use of graphene as filler in the preparation of inorganic/polymer
nanocomposites has involved increasing interest because show superior mechanical,
thermal, gas barrier and electrical properties compared to the neat polymer. In
addition, graphene is an ideal candidate to enhance anti-corrosion properties of the
resin, since it absorbs most of the light and provides hydrophobicity for repelling
water. The most important aspect of these nanocomposites is that all these
improvements can be realized even at very low filler loadings in the polymer matrix.
In this work, graphene nanoflakes were achieved by graphite exfoliation in various
organic solutions and then, in different weight percentages, were incorporated into a
water-soluble epoxy resin. Finally, the coating incorporating the nanoadditives was
applied on a metal sample.
The identification of graphene nanoflakes was performed by Raman Spectroscopy
SEM and XRD analysis. While, the concentration was carried out by UV-vis analysis.
DSC and static contact angle measurements were performed to investigate the
thermal and surface properties of the graphene-filled resin, respectively. The
corrosion resistance of metal sample coating with graphene-filled resin was
examined by Potentiodynamic Polarization test and by Electrochemical Impedance
Spectroscopy (EIS).

EPOXY RESIN + GRAPHENE

METAL

GRAPHITE

GRAPHENE

EPOXY RESIN + GRAPHENE

METAL COATING WITH

EPOXY RESIN + GRAPHENE