Optimizing mechanical properties and corrosion resistance in core-shell nanofiber epoxy self-healing coatings: Impact of shell material variation

Shell materials play significant impact on corrosion resistance and mechanical properties on self-healing coating of composite with core-shell nanofiber. In this paper, three promising shell materials were investigated to optimize the performance of self-healing coating. Self-healing core-shell nanofibers with different shell materials were prepared with coaxial electrospinning. The resulting nanofibers were used to prepare self-healing corrosion resistance coating. The tensile test revealed a notable enhancement in the tensile strength of PA6 core-shell nanofiber epoxy composite coatings compared with the epoxy coating, demonstrating increase of 26.92%. Friction and wear test indicated reductions in the friction coefficients of PAN, PVDF, and PA6 core-shell nanofibers by 13.82%, 12.44%, and 26.27%, respectively. The self-healing and anti-corrosion abilities were evaluated through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) test. All three coatings exhibited exceptional self-healing efficiencies exceeding 90%, highlighting the substantial potential of the chosen shell materials as nanocontainers for self-healing agent. Results indicate that the nanofibers with PA6 as shell material can achieve the best enhancement performance, which has a greater potential for the corrosion protection and long-lasting use of offshore wind turbine tower coatings.Highlights Optimizing coating performance by screening coaxial nanofibers for shell materials Shell material can improve the tensile strength of coating up to 26.92% Friction coefficient of PA6 nanofiber coating was about 15% lower than PAN and PVDF All three coatings exhibited exceptional self-healing efficiencies exceeding 90% Coaxial electrostatic spinning of PA6 shells maximizes mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of coatings. image