Synthesis of graphene-epoxy nanocomposites with the capability to self-heal underwater for materials protection

Polymeric materials that are able to self-heal at damage sites in moisture condition or in water are highly desired to satisfy their industrial requirements. However, it is difficult for anticorrosion coating to self-heal intrinsically in water. Herein, a novel graphene-epoxy nanocomposite with intrinsic self-healing underwater and superior anticorrosion properties was constructed via host-guest chemistry. Typically, the β-cyclodextrin/graphene (CD-G) was firstly synthesized and then incorporated into epoxy network to serve as “macro-crosslinker.” The artificial damage can be easily healed through the dynamic host-guest recognition between cyclodextrin in graphene surface and adamantane at polymer chains. Meanwhile, the impermeable graphene nanosheets largely prevented the electrolyte penetration and improved the healing efficiency for composite coatings. This novel graphene-epoxy nanocomposite possessed efficient self-healing and superior anti-penetration functions, simultaneously, endowing the composite coatings with smart anticorrosion performance.