Please join the department as Jun Geun Um defends their PhD thesis on the fabrication of polyurethane/graphene composites via in-situ polymerization and their application to protect steel pipes against corrosive agents in the oil and gas industries.
Abstract
In contemporary composite science, polymer nanocomposite is one of the most promising new functional materials in the research field. Numerous successful and meaningful results of the polymer nanocomposites have been achieved by the researchers’ great efforts. Among them, the nano-sized fillers provide a breakthrough to supplement the flaws of polymeric materials due to their unique properties. Especially, graphene has been highly attracted to the researchers because of its exclusive mechanical, electrical, and gas barrier properties. Recently, they have focused on examining the anti-corrosion performance of polymer/graphene nanocomposites to protect a metal surface.
Corrosion, commonly known as rust, is a practical topic in modern industries.
In particular, the metal pipes are frequently used in the oil and gas industries but are very vulnerable to corrosion. Thus, polymers are generally coated on those pipes to mitigate the corrosion. Herein, a polymer composite incorporated with graphene or multiple-layer graphene, such as graphene nanoplatelets (GnP), was considered not only to improve anti-corrosive performance but also mechanical properties. In consequence, the plate-like structure of graphene effectively prevented the transportation of corrosive agent through the polymer matrix. The corrosion was even mitigated by an affinity between graphene and the corrosive agent.
In this thesis, polyurethane composites incorporated with various GnPs and their derived GO were fabricated via in-situ polymerization. Three different approaches were investigated for the application of corrosion protection layer: (I) size effect of GnP in the polyurethane composites on mechanical and corrosion properties, (II) size comparison between two different graphene oxide derived from GnP in terms of mechanical and corrosion properties, and (III) comparison of functionalized graphene oxide using three different types of amine modifier in terms of mechanical and corrosion properties.
Supervisor: Professor Aiping Yu