Epoxy coating modified with graphene: A promising composite against corrosion behavior of copper surface in marine media

Graphene-epoxy nanocomposites have been the center of interest of many researchers because of their great physicochemical performances, this study is devoted to graphene reinforced epoxy coatings, therefore functionalized graphene were well dispersed and embedded in coating matrix by curing reaction with resin and hardener. Corrosion of copper and its inhibition by graphene nano-sheets in the epoxy matrix has been investigated in 3 wt % NaCl solution using potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The obtained findings suggested that the coating has remarkably improved the anticorrosion performance, also corrosion-protecting effect by the coating process were investigated using scanning electron microscopy analysis. Scanning electron microscopy observations confirm that the coating is regarded protective layer on copper surface; these findings were assessed by water contact angle measurements, which confirmed the hydrophobic nature of the coat and its high mechanical and barrier properties. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.