A waterborne uniform graphene oxide-epoxy complex with enhanced anticorrosive properties enabled by intercalation polymerization

Abstract Dispersion of graphene in water-based epoxy resins has always been a challenge. In this work, the stable and uniform graphene oxide modified emulsifying epoxy resin curing agents (WPA@GOs) were firstly prepared by intercalation polymerization. Subsequently, WPA@GO was used to emulsify E44 to obtain WPA@GO/E44 nano-emulsions. Compared to WPA/E44 and WPA-GO/E44, the water resistance, tensile strength, and anticorrosive properties of WPA@GO/E44 were significantly increased. The corrosion density of WPA@GO2/E44 coating decreased by 5 times and polarization impedance increased by 10 times in comparison to WPA/E44 coating.