Development of graphene oxide - epoxy base primer nanocomposite coatings for anti-corrosion application

The effect of graphene oxide (GO) on the corrosion protection of non-chromate epoxy base primer (EBP) was investigated. Nanocomposite coatings, less than 50 µm thickness, were prepared adding various amount of (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1 wt%) GO and characterized using Scannig Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman Spectroscopy. Contact angle measurement results revealed that GO – EBP nanocomposites are more hydrophobic than neat EBP. The higher contact angle result was obtained for EBP containing 0.75 wt% of GO. Optical tensiometer and salt spray fog testing were used to charactarize the protection performance of coatings. The thermal behaviour of the coating had been investigated by using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA).