Effect of Epoxy Carbon Nanotube Composite Coating on Properties of Steel

The motivation behind this research is to prepare an epoxy carbon nanotube (EP-CNT) composite coating and apply it for steel protection. Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) particles were added to epoxy with different loadings as; (0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0) % by the total weight of epoxy matrix. The experimental results of this work detected that 0.75% CNTs have an evident effect for enhancing the protective performance of epoxy composite coatings as follows: the final drying time reduced to 64% from the time for the control sample (without CNTs). On the other hand, both the Dry Film Thickness (DFT) of the applied coatings and adhesion strength values increased by 8% and 36%, respectively. Meanwhile, the hydrophobicity of the epoxy composite coating was enhanced by increasing the contact angle of EP-CNT 0.75% to 47% as compared to the pristine epoxy coating sample. Furthermore, incorporating 0.75% CNTs led to enhanced abrasion and fire resistance by 17% and 11%, respectively. Lastly, the resistance of the applied coatings against chemicals and crude oil was changed from fair to excellent.