Inhibiting the Corrosion-Promotion Activity of Graphene

Though an excellent protection material, graphene possesses an unpleasant adverse side effect, which refers to the phenomenon that graphene can aggravate metal corrosion. This effect potentially impedes its applications in metal protection. This work aims to demonstrate a facile graphene encapsulation strategy to effectively inhibit the corrosion-promotion activity of graphene. We encapsulated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). The composite of encapsulated rGO (rGO@APTES) has a flake-like structure with high aspect-ratio. Embedding appropriate amounts of rGO@APTES in polyvinyl butyral coating effectively enhances the barrier properties of the coating by suppressing the penetration of aggressive species. Besides, scratch tests further reveal that the corrosion-promotion activity of the graphene incorporated into the coating is completely inhibited. The strategy of graphene encapsulation can be extended to develop new graphene-based materials with superior physical and chemical properties for the protection of metal components.