The use of amino-functionalised graphene oxides has significantly improved the corrosion protection behaviour of electrophoretic epoxy coatings.

Various methods such as zeta potential, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used for characterisation. The dispersibility of PEI-GO in electrophoretic epoxy paint was analysed using TEM, and the fracture surface morphology of the coatings was observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to determine the anti-corrosion properties of the composite material. It was shown that the impedance modulus of the PEI-GO/EP composite coating is two orders of magnitude higher than that of the pure epoxy coating. Therefore, the corrosion protection has been significantly increased.

Source: Journal of Coatings Technology and Research 21, 761–771 (2024).