Homogeneous dispersion of cellulose/graphite oxide nanofibers in water-based urushiol coatings with improved mechanical properties and corrosion resistance

• Published in: JCT research Vol. 20; no. 5; pp. 1649 - 1660
• Main Authors: Zhang, Lei, Wu, Haitang, Zhao, Chonglin, Kong, Lingce, Huang, Xiaohua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adhesion; Cellulose; Cellulose fibers; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; Corrosion and Coatings; Corrosion prevention; Corrosion resistance; Crosslinking; Dispersion; Graphene; Hardness; Hydrogen bonding; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Low concentrations; Materials Science; Mechanical properties; Molecular interactions; Nanofibers; Polymer coatings; Polymer Sciences; Polymers; Protective coatings; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Tin plate; Tribology; Corrosion resistance; Mechanical properties; Graphene oxide; Composite coating; Water-based urushiol emulsion; Cellulose nanofibers
• ISSN: 1547-0091; 1935-3804; 2168-8028
• DOI: 10.1007/s11998-023-00770-x

A polymeric coating based on a reactive urushiol-based polymeric emulsion was synthesized by grafting cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and graphene oxide (GO) onto the urushiol backbone, followed by phase inversion to obtain a cellulose nanofiber-graphene oxide/water-based urushiol emulsion (GO-CNF/WU). Following silane treatment (APTES), well-dispersed CNF-GO composites were obtained due to molecular interactions at the interface (including covalent, π - π and hydrogen bonding) between CNF and GO, resulting in a WU polymer which served as a mixing matrix to stabilize and improve the resulting GO-CNF through chemical-crosslinking. As expected, the mechanical properties (hardness and adhesion) and anticorrosion protection of the WU films were improved considerably after incorporating GO-CNF composites at fairly low concentrations. Compared to the WU film, the coated tinplate with the GO-CNF/WU coating displayed higher anticorrosion efficiency, with a PE of 99%. In addition, the pencil hardness of the GO-CNF/WU coatings increased significantly, from 2 to 6H, and adhesion was remarkably enhanced from grade 6 to 1 after the addition of 10% MGO to the films. Due to the synergistic protective effect of CNF and GO, the method may represent a facile and environmentally friendly approach to integrate multi-nanoscale blocks into WU polymer with excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance.