ABSTRACT
Green nano silver-epoxy coating for “corrosive and microbial safe” mild steel surfaces was formulated by reinforcing silver nanoparticles (AgNps), which were green synthesized using Rosa indica wichuriana hybrid leaves extract. Epoxy is one of the most well-known binders that are used for a wide variety of protective coatings because of its excellent adhesion, good mechanical properties, and tremendous corrosion resistance performance. Epoxy antimicrobial coatings are of great interest for protection of surfaces, since survival of microorganisms on surface environment can be detrimental to the materials. The green-synthesized AgNps were surface functionalized using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane to achieve better adhesion and dispersion of the AgNps in the N,N’-Tetraglycidylbis amine-phenoxy benzene epoxy matrix. The presence of pores in the cured epoxy coating can assist in the migration of absorbed water and other species to the epoxy–metal interface leading to the initiation of corrosion of the metallic substrate and to the delamination of the coating.
