Incorporation of montmorillonite in epoxy to obtain a protective layer prepared by electrophoretic deposition

An electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process was successfully used to obtain a composite epoxy coating containing montmorillonite. To disperse and obtain the intercalation of montmorillonite particles, a suitable procedure was optimized. This procedure did not require the use of additional chemicals and it was performed at room temperature. The microstructural analysis (TEM and XRD) confirmed that the intercalation of montmorillonite layers with epoxy was achieved. Functional characterisations (EIS and TMA) demonstrated the improved properties of the reinforced epoxy coating with respect to the simple epoxy coating. Moreover, the EPD process resulted more efficient in obtaining a montmorillonite-reinforced epoxy coating than a simple epoxy coating.