Freeze-dried graphene oxide modified with trimethylhexamethylene in the mix solvent for improved anti-corrosion property of epoxy

Graphene oxide (GO) reinforcement to enhance the property of epoxy has been reported many times; with most of the papers focusing on how to modify GO with different functional groups to achieve better dispersion. Here, the importance of the preparation route on the coating systems performance was investigated. It was found that a mixed polar/nonpolar solvent BuOH/xylene (3/1 vol/vol) was the best choice for forming the epoxy/GO coatings. Furthermore, it was found that when the freeze-dried GO sonicated with the curing agent trimethylhexamethylene diamine in the mix solvent, the as-prepared coating exhibited best performance, including better GO dispersion and hydrophobicity, higher adhesion, and anti-corrosion property. Without any additional chemical to modify the GO, this optimized preparation route for epoxy/GO coatings will provide a guide for future similar research works, especially for the GO dispersion in nonaqueous systems.