In-situ intercalation of montmorillonite/urushiol titanium polymer nanocomposite for anti-corrosion and anti-aging of epoxy coatings

Abstract

Metal corrosion leads to serious losses. Herein, we developed a new anti-corrosion coating from natural raw materials, montmorillonite (MMT) and urushiol. In-situ polymerization was used to synthesize urushiol titanium polymer intercalated montmorillonite (UTPOMMT), and the UTPOMMT was then added to epoxy resin (EP) to obtain composite coatings (UTPOMMT/EP). This approach of incorporating urushiol titanium polymer in the MMT increased the spacing between MMT layers, and as a result, the layers were more peelable in the epoxy resin and more compactly packed, thereby increasing the barrier properties of the coating. The results of corrosion resistance test showed that the amount of UTPOMMT added to the EP had a significant effect on the anti-corrosion performance of the composite coatings. Among the prepared composites with different loadings, the composite coating containing 5 wt% of UTPOMMT had the best corrosion resistance and salt spray resistance. Compared to the pure epoxy resin, the 5 wt% UTPOMMT composite had the lowest Icorr value (3.29 × 10−10 A·cm−2), the highest the protection efficiency (97.5%), and the longest salt spray resistance time (1032 h). In addition, the results of UV accelerated aging tests showed that the UTPOMMT/PE composite coatings had excellent aging resistance, and the composite coating prepared with 5 wt% UTPOMMT also had the longest aging resistance time of 720 h. Due to the synergistic effects of the montmorillonite and urushiol titanium polymer, the prepared UTPOMMT/EP composites had effective anti-corrosion and anti-aging properties and could be used as a framework for significantly extending the service life of anti-corrosion coatings.