Preparation, properties, and anticorrosion application of poly(methyl methacrylate)/montmorillonite nanocomposites coating on brass via solution polymerization

Abstract

The aim of this study is to improve the anticorrosive property of 7Cu3Zn brass. The methyl-methacrylate (MMA) monomer solution, modified with fluorine radical and silicone, was used as the polymer matrix to mix with the different percentages of modified montmorillonite (MMT) loading and to exfoliate the lamellar structure of MMT on a nanometer scale during the solution polymerization process, and then form a thin nanocomposites coating on brass as a protective layer. The structural characterization was examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The anticorrosive property of nanocomposites was evaluated using potentio-dynamics polarization and electrochemical impedance spectra. The results show that the d-spacing of MMT was increased, and both exfoliation and intercalation micro-structure were observed. Moreover, with the MMT loading increase, the appearance of the intercalation microstructure was more remarkable as a result of silicate layers aggregation. The 1.0 wt %-coated brass coupons presented the optimistic property of anticorrosion, whose oxygen permeability, corrosion current (icorr), polarization resistance (Rp), and corrosion rate (Rcorr) were 3.5 g/(m 2°h), 6.86 nA/cm2, 5.81 × 105 Ω°cm2, and 0.103 × 10-3 mm/year, respectively. These results indicate that nanocomposites have potential for anticorrosion application. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.