Abstract
In this work, a series of epoxy acrylate (EA)/mica composite coatings were synthesized through introducing mica powders of different particle size into epoxy acrylate coatings and using an ultraviolet (UV) curing technique to investigate the influence of mica particle size on the coatings. Mica powders of different particle sizes were obtained by ball-milling for 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 h with a planetary high-energy ball mill. The particle size and morphologies of ball-milled mica powders were characterized by laser particle size analyzer and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that planetary ball-milling reduced the particle size of mica powders effectively. Mica powders that were un-ball-milled and ball-milled were added into the epoxy acrylate matrix by a blending method to synthesize the organic-inorganic UV curable coatings. The optical photographs of the coatings showed greater stability of liquid mixtures with smaller particle size fillers. The chemical structures of EA/mica composite coatings were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and the conversion rate of C=C bonds was calculated. The results indicated that the C=C conversion of coatings with mica powders of smaller particle sizes was higher. Tests of mechanical properties and tests using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed that pencil hardness, impact resistance, and coating resistance were improved due to the reduction of mica powders particle size.
Highlights
Ultraviolet (UV) curing, as a way to synthesize polymer composite coatings, has been extensively investigated owing to its advantages such as no volatile organic compound emission, low energy consumption, and ultrafast curing rate [1]
Wang et al [12] synthesized fast- curing ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV-LED) polymer materials with different particle size talcum powder, and the results showed that materials filled with smaller size talcum powder showed superior surface/mechanical performance
After being ball-milled for 12 h, the mica powder particles became significantly smaller and more uniform, and most were less than 2 μm (Figure 2d)
Summary
Ultraviolet (UV) curing, as a way to synthesize polymer composite coatings, has been extensively investigated owing to its advantages such as no volatile organic compound emission, low energy consumption, and ultrafast curing rate [1]. Inorganic particles are added to UV curable coatings to obtained composite coatings with enhanced mechanical properties. Much work has been done to study the effect of quantity and surface modifications on properties of UV curable epoxy acrylate (EA) coatings by Javidparvar et al [8], Wang et al [9], Yari et al [10], and Ingrosso et al [11], and to investigate the difference in homogeneity and mechanical properties of composite coatings with micrometer and nanometer ceramic particles [7]. A series of UV curable EA/mica composite coatings was synthesized and the effect of mica particle size on the coatings was investigated. The sinusoidal perturbation voltage was 20 mV, and the measured frequency range was 105~10−2 Hz
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