Graphene was first isolated in 2004 and was hailed as a wonder material due to its unique combination of properties. These include large surface area per unit weight, high tensile strength, high modulus of elasticity, good thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. Practical application has been slow to develop, however almost two decades later, the full potential of this material is being harnessed to enhance products across a broad range of industries. This paper shows how graphene can significantly enhance the performance of functional coatings.

The inclusion of very low levels of effectively dispersed Graphene in high solids epoxy coating
formulations has been found beneficial to their anticorrosive performance. This is seen as reduction in scribe corrosion creep and improved adhesion when assessed as part of testing to ISO(1) 12944 Annex B. Similar benefits have been observed across a range of epoxy coating formulation types including commercially obtained materials.

An investigation of the mechanism of this improvement largely discounts the contribution of barrier or chemical interactions. It is instead proposed that the observed improvements can be explained by simple mechanical reinforcement of the polymer system, with Graphene particles acting as points of reinforcement or stress relief that limit crack propagation on a micro scale. The propagation and termination of cracking of a Graphene Epoxy system close to fracture surfaces was observed by optical microscopy. Where cracks propagated to a graphene particle, it was commonly observed that the crack terminated at the particle. This suggests wider potential application in high performance coatings where Graphene could improve long term durability by reducing the incidence of cracking.