Corrosion Resistance and Thermal Conductivity Enhancement of Reduced Graphene Oxide–BaSO4–Epoxy Composites

Abstract

The results of studies on the corrosion protectiveness and thermal conductivity of reduced graphene oxide–BaSO4 epoxy composites are reported here. A commercial epoxy resin and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were blended with a hardening reagent and then mixed with prepared BaSO4–epoxy resin (B–epoxy). The reduced graphene oxide–BaSO4–epoxy composite (rGO–B–epoxy) paste was used to coat the surfaces of Al 7205 alloy and the corrosion and thermal properties were investigated. A corrosion test in a 3.5 wt% synthetic sea water solution showed that the composite coating containing BaSO4 had the best corrosion resistance. Moreover, the rGO–B–epoxy composite showed better protection against corrosion than the epoxy alone. The rGO–B–epoxy composite with 5 wt% BaSO4 had an in-plane coefficient of thermal conductivity of approximately 165.0 W/m K, and the in-plane thermal diffusivity was 71.38 mm2/s. In standard thermal conductivity tests, all three samples had values below 40 W/m K. The rGO–B–epoxy composites showed good surface corrosion protection and in-plane thermal conductivity.