Functionlized graphene serving as free radical scavenger and corrosion protection in gamma-irradiated epoxy composites

Epoxy networks, as common protection materials, possess some adverse degradation effects in the gamma irradiation environment, which greatly limit their potential applications for metal protection in nuclear industry. To avoid this, we attempted to incorporate the graphene oxide (GO) with significant radical scavenger behavior into the epoxy resin, followed by thermal polymerization to obtain the functional graphene oxide/epoxy nanocomposite coating (GEP). The electron spin resonance (ESR) detection shows that graphene can act as radical scavenger, and a relatively small quantity (0.25 wt%) addition of graphene within the epoxy resin exhibits the least amount of radicals. In addition, electrochemical data strongly demonstrate that graphene is capable of maintaining the anti-corrosion properties under the gamma irradiation environment. Therefore, the designed hybrid GO/epoxy resin composite can be considered as promising candidates for protective coatings in nuclear industry.