Epoxy resin coatings were prepared with phytic acid-doped graphene oxide (PA-GO) to modify epoxy resins (EP). The aim was to improve the dispersion of GO in waterborne epoxy resin, and thus to improve the corrosion resistance of steel structures. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results showed that PA-GO was successfully prepared and has a better dispersion in epoxy resin. This is mainly due to the PA insert, which increased the layer spacing of the GO. The results obtained under the controlled corrosive environment showed that the specimen coated with EP containing 1.0 wt.% PA-GO had better corrosion resistance than other samples. This resistance was also two orders of magnitude higher than pure epoxy coating. The main reason for this is that the dispersion of GO in waterborne epoxy resin had been improved.
Keywords: Graphite oxide; Phytic acid; Waterborne epoxy coating; anticorrosion; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.