Non-covalently surface modification of graphene oxide nanosheets and its role in the enhancement of the epoxy-based coatings` physical properties

• Published in: Colloids and surfaces. A, Physicochemical and engineering aspects Physicochemical and engineering aspects, 2020-10, Vol.602, p.125061, Article 125061
• Main Authors: Javidparvar, Ali Asghar, Naderi, Reza, Ramezanzadeh, Bahram
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorption; Benzimidazole; Cerium; Epoxy coating; Graphene oxide
• ISSN: 0927-7757; 1873-4359
• DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2020.125061

[Display omitted] •Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were surface modified by Ce, benzimidizole (BI) and BI-Ce hybrid complex.•The properties of epoxy coating were enhanced incorporating the modified GO.•The greatest properties were recorded in the presence of GO non-covalently modified by BI-Ce complex.•Modification of GO surface led to the nanosheets dispersion improvement in the epoxy matrix. The surface of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets was modified by a complex of benzimidazole (BI) molecules-cerium (III) ions and analyzed by UV–vis, SEM/EDS, and Raman methods. The improvement in the epoxy-based coatings' mechanical characteristics after the inclusion of the modified and unmodified GO sheets was studied by tensile (stress-strain plots) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) tests. Furthermore, the morphology of the fractured-surface was analyzed by cross-section SEM analysis. The modified GO (MGO) nanoparticle dispersion quality in the coating structure was examined by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The XRD test results depicted that the modification of GO by BI-Ce complex, BI, and cerium (III) led to the nanosheets dispersion improvement in the polymer matrix under study. The tensile test results evidenced that the stress at break, Young's modulus, energy at the break, and elongation at break values increased by 99.6 %, 40.3 %, 133.4 %, and 446.4 %, respectively by addition of MGO nanoparticles. Also, the DMTA results showed that the Tg and E' values increased by about 13 % and 102 %, respectively, after inclusion of MGO nanoparticles in the nanocomposite.