Hydrophobic Modification of Graphene Oxide and Its Effect on the Corrosion Resistance of Silicone-Modified Epoxy Resin

This study modified graphene oxide (GO) with hydrophilic octadecylamine (ODA) via covalent bonding to improve its dispersion in silicone-modified epoxy resin (SMER) coatings. The structural and physical properties of ODA-GO were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angle tests. The ODA-GO composite materials were added to SMER coatings by physical mixing. FE-SEM, water absorption, and contact angle tests were used to evaluate the physical properties of the ODA-GO/SMER coatings, while salt spray, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning Kelvin probe (SKP) methods were used to test the anticorrosive performance of ODA-GO/SMER composite coatings on Q235 steel substrates. It was found that ODA was successfully grafted onto the surfaces of GO. The resulting ODA-GO material exhibited good hydrophobicity and dispersion in SMER coatings. The anticorrosive properties of the ODA-GO/SMER coatings were significantly improved due to the increased interfacial adhesion between the nanosheets and SMER, lengthening of the corrosive solution diffusion path, and increased cathodic peeling resistance. The 1 wt.% ODA-GO/SMER coating provided the best corrosion resistance than SMER coatings with other amounts of ODA-GO (including no addition). After immersion in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution for 28 days, the low-frequency end impedance value of the 1 wt.% ODA-GO/SMER coating remained high, at 6.2 × 108 Ω·cm2.