Investigation Effect of Zinc Nanoparticles on The Mechanical and Anticorrosion Properties of Epoxy Coatings on Stainless Steel Surface

In this study, effects of zinc nanoparticles (ZNPs) on the mechanical properties of epoxy coatings and anticorrosion behavior on the stainless steel were investigated. The nanocomposites (NCs) were obtained by adding ZNPs (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 wt%) to epoxy resin. The first stage in this study, bulk samples were prepared for tensile test and DSC, TGA, FTIR, SEM analysis. The test and analysis were performed separately for samples cured at room temperature for 24 h and postcured at 80 °C for 15 h in the oven. The results indicated that both postcuring and adding ZNPs caused an increase in the mechanical properties of the epoxy matrix. Tensile strength increased by 13.2% and 90.2% in the postcured NC (1.0% Zn) and untreated NC (0.5% Zn) respectively. The NCs prepared with the same parameters for the second stage were coated on AISI 304 test panels and the panels were postcured in the oven. The anticorrosive performance of the coatings was studied by an immersion test. According to the corrosion test results, it was observed that the coated steel surface preserves the best rate of 1.0% ZNPs containing epoxy composite. In addition, impact resistance, flexibilities and adhesion properties of the coating were analyzed.