• Graeve, Iris De
• Gonzalez-Garcia, Yaiza
• Muselle, Thibault
• Terryn, Herman
• Scheltjens, Gill
• Mele, Bruno Van
• Mol, J. M. C.
• Van Assche, Guy

Abstract

In the present paper, a shape-memory polyurethane (SMPU) film consisting of a twosegmented <br/>block co-polymer is presented as a novel organic coating for the protection of metals <br/>against corrosion. When the coating is damaged, a physical self-healing and consequent recovery of the <br/>barrier properties are induced after an increase of the temperature. Indeed, thermal treatment leads to <br/>the relaxation of the soft matrix in the polymer and subsequent coverage of the damaged area. The <br/>scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) is employed to visualize local variations of the <br/>electrochemical activity in the damaged area of the SMPU coating, proving that the physical-repairing <br/>of the film during the thermal treatment leads to a recovery of the protective properties of the coated <br/>system. By using laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), observation of the coating defect before <br/>and after the thermal healing allowed to establish the efficiency of the polymer to cover the coating <br/>defect qualitatively. Complementary experiments using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) allowed to <br/>study the mechanical properties of the co-polymer under a gradient of temperature and to prove its <br/>stability during the healing treatment.

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• polymer
• corrosion
• experiment
• defect
• dynamic mechanical analysis
• confocal microscopy