Macromolecular NanotechnologyAdvanc

Macromolecular Nanotechnology
Advanced environmentally friendly anticorrosive materials
prepared from water-based polyacrylate/Na+-MMT
clay nanocomposite latexes
Mei-Chun Lai a, Kung-Chin Chang a, Jui-Ming Yeh a,*, Shir-Joe Liou b,
Ming-Fa Hsieh c, Herng-Show Chang d
a Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanotechnology at CYCU, Chung-Yuan Christian University, Chung Li 32023, Taiwan, ROC
b Material and Chemical Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsin Chu 300, Taiwan, ROC
c Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Nanotechnology at CYCU, Chung-Yuan Christian University,
Chung Li 32023, Taiwan, ROC
d New Materials Research and Development Department, China Steel Corporation, Kaohsiung 81233, Taiwan, ROC
Received 16 December 2005; received in revised form 1 May 2007; accepted 5 May 2007
Available online 18 May 2007
Abstract
A series of novel advanced environmentally friendly anticorrosive materials have been successfully prepared by effectively
dispersing nanolayers of Na+-montmorillonite (Na+-MMT) clay into water-based polyacrylate latex (i.e., vinyl
acrylic terpolymers). First of all, a polyacrylate latex was synthesized through co-polymerizing organic monomers of
MMA, BMA and styrene (St) using conventional emulsion polymerization technique with SDS, 1-pentanol and KPS as
surfactant, co-surfactant and initiator, respectively. Subsequently, the commercial purified hydrophilic Na+-MMT was
effectively dispersing into the polyacrylate latex through the direct solution dispersion technique.
The as-prepared neat polyacrylate and the series of water-based polyacrylate/Na+-MMT clay nanocomposite (Na+-
PCN) materials were subsequently characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, TEM and GPC. The water-based Na+-
PCN materials loaded with low content of Na+-MMT when in the form of coating on the cold rolled steel (CRS) coupons
was found to be remarkably superior in anticorrosion efficiency over those of neat polyacrylate based on a series of electrochemical
measurements of corrosion potential, polarization resistance, corrosion current, and impedance spectroscopy
in saline. Effect of material composition on the molecular barrier, optical clarity and thermal stability were also studied by
molecular permeability analysis, ultraviolet–visible transmission spectra, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric
analysis (TGA), respectively. Organo-PCN materials were also prepared as a control experiment for comparative
studies.
 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Water-based; Polyacrylate; Clay; Nanocomposite latexes; Anticorrosive
0014-3057/$ - see front matter  2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2007.05.008
* Corresponding author. Fax: +886 3 2653399.
E-mail address: juiming@cycu.edu.tw (J.-M. Yeh).
European Polymer Journal 43 (2007) 4219–4228
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