A new approach for enhancement of the corrosion protection properties and interfacial adhesion bonds between the epoxy coating and steel substrate through surface treatment by covalently modified amino functionalized graphene oxide film

This study introduces a novel surface treatment approach of steel substrate by covalent modification of graphene oxide (fGO) nanosheets with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane to improve the adhesion and corrosion protection properties of an epoxy coating. The effect of fGO film on the epoxy coating performance was studied by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), Pull-off adhesion, salt spray and cathodic delamination tests. Results revealed that deposition of fGO film on steel surface can effectively improve the adhesion strength and corrosion protection properties and reduce the cathodic delamination rate of the epoxy coating.