Abstract
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•The dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles increased in epoxy matrix using nanogel.•The interactions of TiO2 nanogel composites during epoxy curing improve mechanical properties of epoxy matrix.•Self-healing achieved for cured TiO2 nanogel epoxy composites having flexible networks.
Nanomaterials attracted great attention to improve the fracture resistance and to solve the crack initiation and crack propagation of epoxy resin problems. In this work, modification of TiO2 surfaces with crosslinked smart nanogel is proposed technique to improve the mechanical properties of epoxy coat. N-Isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAm) was selected as smart monomer to prepare crosslinked copolymers with acrylic acid (AA) or acrylamide (AAm) using dispersion radical polymerization. The chemical structure, thermal stability, morphology, particle size and surface charges of TiO2 nanogel composites were determined to investigate the dispersability of nanogel in epoxy resin.
The effect of TiO2 nanogel composites on the mechanical properties and corrosion resistivity of epoxy resins as organic coatings for steel were investigated and discussed. It is shown that the incorporation of TiO2 nanogel composites based on NIPAm/AA and AA/AAm nanogels into epoxy matrix can improve the self-healing characteristics of damaged epoxy composites even at low contents.