Micron-dimensional sulfonated graphene sheets co-stabilized emulsion polymerization to prepare acrylic latex used for reinforced anticorrosion coatings

Waterborne polyacrylic anticorrosion coatings prepared with regular organic molecular emulsifiers suffer from reduced water and corrosion resistance. Herein this work, micron-dimensional sulfonated reduced graphene oxide (SRGO) sheets were prepared and introduced in-situ to co-stabilized the emulsion polymerization for improving dispersibility, compatibility and anticorrosive properties of polyacrylic/graphene composite coatings. By simulating the industrial polyacrylic latex formulation, effects of sulfonation degree of SRGO, dosage of SRGO and weight ratio of oil/water phase on the emulsion polymerization behaviour were systematically studied. The anticorrosion properties of polyacrylic/graphene composite coatings were evaluated through polarization curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Corrosion phenomena, such as bubbling and rusting, appearing on the surface of coatings after exposure to water or aqueous salt solution, were systematically identified to compare the degree of corrosion. All results demonstrated that micron-sized SRGO sheets with good hydrophilic property could be dispersed well in-situ to facilitate the emulsion polymerization. The anticorrosive performance of the polyacrylic/graphene composite coatings have been dramatically improved by introducing SRGO at a low dosage as 0.2%, which suggests the application of micron-sized graphene sheets in the industrial polyacrylic-based anticorrosion coatings would be accelerated.