Preparation and properties of a self-crosslinking styrene acrylic emulsion using amino-functional graphene oxide as a crosslinking agent and anti-corrosion filler

In this paper, we prepared a self-crosslinking amino-functional graphene oxide/styrene acrylic hybrid emulsion (AGO/SA). The styrene acrylic emulsion (SA) was synthesized with acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate (AAEM) by semicontinuous seeded emulsion polymerization. Then, amino-functionalized graphene oxide (AGO) was prepared via the modification of graphene oxide (GO) with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and reacted with the SA emulsion as a crosslinking agent by in situ polymerization. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravity analysis (TGA), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were applied to explore the chemical structures and morphologies of the samples. The anti-corrosion performance of the AGO/SA coatings was evaluated by Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Along with the crosslink between AGO and SA, the micropores in the matrix were reduced, the coating expressed improved corrosion resistance due to the graphene barrier, and the hybrid emulsion with 0.7 wt.% AGO exhibited the best anti-corrosion properties. These results indicate that AGO can act as both a crosslinking agent and an anti-corrosion agent in self-crosslinking hybrid emulsions, which have great potential in the field of environmentally friendly emulsions.