Investigation on the anticorrosion, adhesion and mechanical performance of epoxy nanocomposite coatings containing epoxy-silane treated nano-MoO3 on mild steel

The effect of introducing MoO3 (Molybdenum oxide) nanoparticle in the epoxy coating was analyzed by EIS and SECM methods in natural seawater. The aminopropyl triethoxy silane (APTES) was treated with the nanoparticle for the proper dispersion and chemical interaction of nanoparticle with the epoxy resin. The introduction of MoO3 nanoparticle in the epoxy coating enhances the charge transfer resistance (Rct) as well as the film resistance (Rf). The observation of iron dissolution and oxygen consumption was carried out by applying the appropriate SECM tip potential in the MoO3 modified nanocomposite coated steel. The epoxy and epoxy-MoO3 nanocomposite-coated samples were used to study the mechanical, adhesion and anticorrosion properties. The analysis using SEM/EDX displayed that the enriched Mo was detected in the nanocomposite coated steel. The presence of the nano level corrosion product containing Mo was confirmed by FIB-TEM analysis. The high corrosion protection properties of the epoxy based nanocomposite coating was due to the complex nanoscale layer formed and chemical interactions of epoxy resin with surface-modified nanoparticle in nanocomposites.