Epoxy Resin with Amphiphilic Ionic Liquid as Hydrophobic Organic Coating for Steel

The ionic liquids (ILs) have been proposed as curing modifiers to obtain superior epoxy coatings. In the present work, the imidazolium and pyridinium cations combined in amphiphilic hardener based on polyamines to apply as curing for epoxy resin and to obtain organic coatings on the steel surface. In this respect, the primary amine groups of triethylenetetramine, pentaethylenehexamine or aminopyridinum tetradecylbromide was condensed with p-hydroxybenzaldehyde and glyoxal to obtain new ILs. The phenol group of the produced ILs were etherified with tetraethylene glycol to obtain amiphiphilic The chemical structure, thermal stability, and thermal characteristics as new ILs were characterized. The curing exotherms of the epoxy resins with the liquid ILs were evaluated from diffraction scanning calorimetric (DSC) and thermostated curing system to determine the maximum curing exothermic temperatures and times. The cured epoxy coatings were applied on the steel surfaces to investigate their adhesion strengths, morphologies and seawater salt spray resistance. The data confirm that the cured epoxy resin in the presence of ILs hardeners show higher adhesion strengths and salt spray exposure time more than 15 MPa and 2000h, respectively.

Automated summary

This study utilized imidazolium and pyridinium cations as curing modifiers to enhance the performance of epoxy coatings, producing new ILs for curing epoxy resin. The resulting epoxy coatings cured with ILs hardeners showed significantly improved adhesion strengths and resistance to salt spray exposure.