Thermoset epoxies with good mechanical properties and chemical resistance are used for coating metal surfaces as organic barriers preventing corrosion. In this work, a bio-based epoxy (DGEDP) derived from diphenolic acid as alternative to the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) were combined to obtain toughened self-healing coatings with excellent transparency.<br/>Reaction induced phase separation renders epoxy rich and TPU rich regions in the morphology. When a crack is generated on the surface, by heating the sample above its glass-transition temperature allows the diffusion and re-entanglement of the TPU, healing the crack and preventing substrate corrosion.<br/>TPU pre-polymers with different molecular weights were incorporated within the epoxy monomer and the processing window for the resultant coating was tested. Also the effect of epoxy on TPU crystallization kinetics was investigated. Morphological characterization and stress relaxation experiments revealed the role of TPU parameters on coating healing efficiency.

Bio-based epoxy-TPU system for self-healing coating applications

254th National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.