Fabrication of functionalized graphene oxide/maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene composite film with excellent gas barrier and anticorrosion properties

The octadecylamine (ODA) modified graphene oxide (mGO-ODA)/maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) composites (mGO-ODA/MAPP) were prepared and applied successfully as gas barrier and corrosion protection coating materials for the first time. The hydrophobic mGO-ODA sheets showed improved solubility in non-polar solvents with molar absorptivity was found to be 36 mL mg(-1) cm(-1) in ethylcyclohexane. FTIR analysis confirmed that mGO-ODA chemically interacts with MAPP. The mGO-ODA nanosheets were well exfoliated and dispersed in the MAPP matrix as confirmed by XRD analysis. The mGO-ODA/MAPP composites were coated on modified nylon sheets by a spray coating method, and the gas transmission rates (GTRs) of H-2 and O-2 were tested for these coated films. Cross-sectional FESEM showed the excellent attachment of these composite with the nylon film. The 60% mGO-ODA/MAPP-coated nylon film exhibited 93% and 112% improvement in elastic modulus values than the MAPP-coated and pure nylon films, respectively. Besides, 60% mGO-ODA/MAPP exhibited 94.1% and 95.0% reduction for H(2)GTR and O(2)GTR, respectively, compared to the pure nylon film. In addition, mGO-ODA/MAPP coated steel substrate exhibited excellent anticorrosion performance. The corrosion inhibition efficiency and corrosion rate were calculated to be 99.15% and 2.26 x 10-3 mm/year, respectively, for 60% mGO-ODA/MAPP.