Influence of nanoclay particles modification by polyester-amide hyperbranched polymer on the corrosion protective performance of the epoxy nanocomposite

Surface modification of nanoclay particles was carried out by various amounts of polyester-amide hyper-branched polymer (HBP). Thermal gravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis were performed to estimate the efficiency of the HPB grafting on the clay particles. Epoxy/clay nanocomposites were prepared by addition of 1 wt.% unmodified and modified clays. The corrosion protection properties of the nanocomposites were evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Results revealed that surface modification of the clay particles by HBP caused significant enhancement of the epoxy coating corrosion resistance especially when the 'polymer/clay' ratios were 10/1 and 5/1. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.