Vinyl ester/silica aerogel nanocomposite coatings with enhanced hydrophobicity and corrosion protection properties

Abstract Vinyl ester (VE) resins have been widely used in the coating industry. However, research on its potential in anti‐corrosion applications has been limited. In this work, silica aerogels were first synthesized and then incorporated into the VE resin at 5, 10, and 15 wt% with respect to the VE content. Based on the morphological results, higher inclusions of silica aerogels (10 and 15 wt%) were significantly aggregated at the surface layer of the coatings leading to a highly rough surface structure which was also proved by atomic force microscopy. In fact, the aerogel nanoparticles formed a very packed structure leading to the formation of an effective physical barrier against corrosive agents. Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy also revealed that the nanocomposite coatings exhibited a lower water absorption behavior which could be beneficial for the anti‐corrosion behavior. Wetting results demonstrated that the water contact angle has essentially increased from 61° for the pure VE coating to 92° for the aerogel‐loaded coating. Such enhancement in hydrophobicity and also the creation of a physical barrier at the surface layer of the coatings led to promising barrier results as found by Tafel polarization curves. The protection efficiency was dramatically improved to 97.9% for the highest inclusion of silica aerogel.