Preparation of Ce-MOF@TEOS to enhance the anti-corrosion properties of epoxy coatings

A nano-structured hybrid compound was fabricated with excellent corrosion inhibitor encapsulating capacity and the ability of controlled delivery of benzotriazole (BTA) for simultaneous enhancement of the hydrophobic property and corrosion resistance of epoxy coatings. The Ce-metal organic frameworks (Ce-MOF) were synthesized and served as nanocontainers, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was further added to form a film to wrap Ce-metal organic frameworks. The addition of benzotriazole into nanocontainers endowed coating system with excellent anti-corrosion performance. The novelty lies in that the tetraethyl orthosilicate membrane would break and produce pores to release benzotriazole uniformly under acid condition, which was a pH-controlled self-healing process through polymer coatings providing an effective release of corrosion inhibitor. The fabricated hybrid compounds were comprehensively characterized with Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) was performed to characterize the corrosion behavior of various composite coatings. Results indicated that the 3 wt.%Ce-metal organic frameworks incorporated into the epoxy coatings showed the most excellent anti-corrosion property.