In this work, we prepared polyethylene oxide-silica-zirconia based hydrophobic coatings for corrosion controlled on aluminium (Al) and mild steel (MS) substrates (sheets) by the wet chemical process using (3-glycidoxypropyl)-trimethoxysilane (GPTMS), zirconium (IV) propoxide (ZP) and polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) with trimethylsiloxy terminated as precursors. Depending on the mol percentage of ZP used for preparation, the sols were designated as GZ-0, GZ-5, GZ-10, and GZ-20. Crack free homogeneous coatings of thickness 3-4 μm having refractive index values 1.48 to 1.535 ± 0.005 were prepared using these sols after drying at 60°C/ 1 h followed by heat treatment at 120 °C/ 2 h. Formation of Si-O-Si, ZrO- Zr and inter-linked Si-O-Zr network during sol the stage as well as post thermal treatment condition were confirmed by FTIR and ATR analysis. The hardness of the coatings was ≥6H (ASTM D 3363) with good adhesion to the substrate. After immersion in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution uncoated Al and MS showed significant deterioration, whereas no damage was observed for all coated substrates even after 20 days. Static water contact angle (WCA) of the heat treated (120 °C/2h) coatings were around 108 ± 2°. With increasing the hydrophobicity of coating corrosion resistant significantly enhanced to certain extent (25 ±1 days) but mechanical property (hardness) decreased. Considering above, the said composite materials can be used to coat or strengthen various metal surfaces for enhancing their performance against environmental impact, durability, and functional life for different applications areas.
Keywords: Sol-gel, dip-coating, nanocomposite, water contact angle, corrosion resistance.
Citation: Medda, S. K. (2026). Polyethylene-Silica-Zirconia Based Protective and Hydrophobic Nanocomposite Coatings for Corrosion Control on Aluminium and Mild Steel. J mate poly sci, 6(2) :1-10.
DOI : https://doi.org/10.47485/2832-9384.1083