The Effect of Residual Solvent in Carbon−Based Filler Reinforced Polymer Coating on the Curing Properties, Mechanical and Corrosive Behaviour

Solution mixing, which is one of the standard methods of producing Graphene−based Nanocomposites (GPC) may not be as efficient as it is expected due to the presence of residual solvent in the cured product. Therefore, the influence of including acetone in the preparation of Graphene Oxide−based epoxy coating (GO−EP) on the curing behaviour, mechanical and corrosive behaviour was studied. FTIR and TGA analysis confirmed that the GO−EP prepared by ultrasonication (GO−EP U) indicated the presence of more low−molecular−weight/low crosslinked (LMW/LC) sites than GO−EP prepared by stirring (GO−EP MS). Meanwhile, the tensile strength and hardness of GO−EP MS was 20% and 10% better than GO−EP U which confirmed that the presence of a lower number of LMW/LC could prevail over the agglomeration of GO sheets in the GO−EP MS. Pull−off adhesion tests also confirms that the presence of remaining acetone would cause the poor bonding between metal and coating in GO−EP U. This is reflected on the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results, where the GO−EP U failed to provide substantial barrier protection for carbon steel after 140 days of immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl. Therefore, it is essential to consider the solvent effect when solvent is used in the preparation of a coating to prevent the premature failure of high−performance polymer coatings.