MONODORA MYRISTICA EXTRACT: A SUSTAINABLESUBSTITUTE TO ZINC PHOSPHATE FOR EPOXYCOATINGS

Thisresearch exploredthe use of monodora myristica(African nutmeg)extract as a sustainable and biodegradable substitute for zinc phosphate in epoxy coatings.Amarket standard coating formulation wasused,andthepercentageofzincphosphateinthecoatingwassubstitutedwithMonodora myristica extract (MME). The coatings were appliedtothemild steel substrate and allowed to dry in theopenair.Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)confirmed the presence of functional groups and bioactive ingredients that assist in bothcoatings'anti-corrosion properties.Morphological propertieswerestudiedusingAtomicForceMicroscopy(AFM),ScanningElectronMicroscopy (SEM). Thermal studies were carried out using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), while the electrochemicaltestutilisedtherapidelectrochemicalassessmentofpaints(REAP)test.Finally,Computationalstudieswereperformedusingdensityfunctionaltheory(DFT)andmolecular Dynamicssimulations(MDS).TheresultsoftheAFMshowedasurfaceroughnessof1.15nmand 0.97nm for epoxy coated with zinc phosphate and extract,respectively.The extract-based coating had a slightly higher hardness value (100.3 HRB) compared to the market standard, with a micro hardness of99.2HRB.TheDSCresultsshowedthatbothcoatingsexhibitminorlow-temperaturefeatures (~50–80 °C). The zinc phosphate formulation maintains a gradual heat-flow profile, whileMonodora extractcoatingshowsanearlierandsteadier increasein heat flow.The (REAPtests showedavery closecoatingsolutionresistanceof7.43ohmsand8.99ohms,andaverycloseRelativeTimeTo Failure,TTF (hrs)of 1240.4.and 1090.23hrs.for both the epoxy/zinc phosphate and epoxy/extract coatings,respectively.ThestudydemonstratesthatcoatingsformulatedwithMMEexhibit comparable morphological, thermal, and electrochemical properties to zinc phosphate-based coatings,indicatingthatMMEcaneffectivelyreplacehazardoussubstanceswithoutcompromising performance