Preparation and anticorrosive properties of hybrid coatings based on epoxy-silica hybrid materials

A series of sol-gel derived organic-inorganic hybrid coatings consisting of organic epoxy resin and inorganic silica were successfully synthesized through sol-gel approach by using 3-glycidoxypropyl-trimethoxysilane as coupling agent. Transparent organic-inorganic hybrid sol-gel coatings with different contents of silica were always achieved. The hybrid sol-gel coatings with low silica loading on cold-rolled steel coupons were found much superior improvement in anticorrosion efficiently. The as-synthesized hybrid sol-gel materials were characterized by Fourier-transformation infrared spectroscopy, ²⁹Si-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Effects of the material composition of epoxy resins along with hybrid materials on the thermal stability, Viscoelasticity properties and surface morphology were also studied, respectively.