Synthesis of graphene/epoxy resin composite via 1,8-diaminooctane by ultrasonication approach for corrosion protection

In this work, the preparation of the graphene/epoxy resin composite and its corrosion protection on the copper substrate were presented. The 1,8-diaminooctane-grafted-graphene (1,8-D-g-G) was synthesized using the carboxyl functional graphite and 1,8-diaminooctane by a one-pot process under ultrasonication in supercritical CO2. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared samples characterized by FTIR, XPS, TEM, AFM, and SEM confirmed that the graphite was exfoliated into the graphene and the latter reacted with the 1,8-diaminooctane via amidation to form the 1,8-D-g-G. The graphene/epoxy resin composite was readily achieved by the reaction of the epoxy resin with the 1,8-D-g-G. The electrochemical and salt spray tests were applied to assess the corrosion protection of the composite coating on the copper substrate. The results demonstrated that the composite exhibited excellent corrosion protection. Also, the mechanism of the co-occurred exfoliating process and the amidation reaction in one-pot under ultrasonication in supercritical CO2 was explored.