Effect of photo-crosslinking on the performance of silica nanoparticle-filled epoxidized acrylic copolymer coatings

The effect of UV-crosslinking on the morphological, mechanical and barrier properties of a hybrid coating based on an epoxidized acrylic polymer filled with silica nanoparticles, incorporated in situ through the sol-gel method, was studied. A systematic comparison of coatings loaded with various amounts of silica nanoparticles subjected or not to UV-curing was reported. The morphological and mechanical properties were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and tribology tests, while the corrosion resistance of thin films applied on aluminum alloys was measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Our findings indicate that a synergic effect is brought about by the combination of silica nanoparticles and UV-curing, significantly enhancing the mechanical properties of the coating, although the corrosion protection was compromised. The resulting coating may be used in applications requiring high mechanical performance.