Hydrophobic and corrosion-resistive coatings were successfully prepared by photopolymerization of acrylate-based fluorinated monomers. The coatings are directly cured on aluminum surface by a simple drop-cast technique. Poly(hexafluoroisopropyl methacrylate) (PHFiPMA) and poly(hexafluorobutyl methacrylate) (PHFBMA) were prepared by a free-radical photopolymerization method. Hexafluorobutyl methacrylate (HFBMA) and hexafluoroisopropyl methacrylate (HFiPMA) were used as monomers, whereas hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (Irgacure 184) and poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate were used as a photoinitiator and cross-linker, respectively. These fluorinated polymers demonstrated highly corrosion protection characterized by using potentiodynamic polarization, open circuit potential (OCP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques in 3.5% NaCl solution. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques were used to show the structure and the morphology of the coatings surface. Dynamic contact angle measurements of a water drop demonstrated the hydrophobicity of the fluorinated polymers. The thermal stability for these polymers was measured by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The in-house photopolymerized fluorinated polymers exhibited strong chemical resistance for strong acids and bases as well as resistance for a wide range of solvents. The tape test method was used as well to show the adhesion strength of these coatings on the aluminum surface. In addition to their superior thermal stability and corrosion resistance, the in-house technique for making these fluorinated corrosive coatings is highly economical (100x in terms of raw material cost) compared to the very expensive commercial polymers of similar composition.

Synthesis of new hydrophobic, fluorinated, and cross-linked polymers and their use for corrosion protection of aluminum substrates

254th National Meeting (2017)

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