Encapsulation of Maleimide-Based Healing Agent and Zinc Phosphate
for Self-Healing and Corrosion Prevention

             Sadella Santos, Ph.D. Candidate
             Advisor: Dr. Giuseppe Palmese


Protective epoxy coatings for metal substrates are used for wear resistance and physical protection against environmental conditions that may result in physical or chemical changes, such as corrosion. Currently, there is a need to create coatings with an improved ability to physically and chemically protect the metal substrate from the corrosion process. The purpose of this work is to incorporate the reversible Diels-Alder healing chemistry through a maleimide-based healing agent and inorganic zinc phosphate inhibiting pigments into an encapsulated healing system with controlled target delivery of each component. Furthermore, we would like to study the effect of capsule size on the protective electrochemical properties in thin films representative of coatings. Completion of this work will not only result in a coating with improved performance but will also potentially offer new insight for composite material design for various other applications.





Optical micrograph of urea formaldehyde microcapsules filled with reactive solution.


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