Water uptake of epoxy coatings modified with γ-APS silane monomer

Epoxy resin was modified by a silane monomer, γ-aminopropyltrimethoxy silane (γ-APS), and was used as the protective coatings for LY12 aluminum alloys. The aim of the modification is to reduce the water uptake of polymeric coatings. The water absorption of coatings was measured by coating capacitance method in 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution. The result indicates that water uptake of epoxy coatings modified with 1.0 wt.% γ-APS decreases compared with pure epoxy coatings, whereas larger amounts of sliane result in the deterioration in performance against water permeation, due to the excessive consumption of epoxide group in epoxy resin by amino-group in silane agent, thus reduce the cross-linking of epxoy coating as a result of presence of excessive curing agent (polyamide). Tg of silane-modified coatings increases slightly after immersion, extremely contrasting with that of pure epoxy coating, which was observed to decrease significantly after water permeation. The formation of Si–O–Si structure resulting from the hydrolysis and condensation of silane components during the immersion in aqueous media may be a reasonable explanation for the abnormal change in Tg of silane-modified coatings. In addition, all silane-modified coatings display better protection performance, which is characterized by higher charge transfer resistances (Rct) and lower double layer capacitance (Cdl) at substrate/electrolyte interface.