Reinforcing the corrosion protection property of epoxy coating by using graphene oxide-poly(urea-formaldehyde) composites

A new type of modified graphene oxide (GO) coating was prepared by anchoring a prepolymer of urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin onto GO sheets through in situ polycondensation. The modified GO sheets were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction experiment, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, sedimentation test, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. One major finding was that the superior compatibility of UF resin with epoxy resin retained the high dispersion of modified GO sheets in polymer matrix. Results further revealed that the modified GO sheets significantly reinforced the corrosion protection property of epoxy coatings on carbon steel substrate.