Corrosion Resistance and Thermal Conductivity Enhancement of Reduced Graphene Oxide-BaSO₄-Epoxy Composites

The results of studies on the corrosion protectiveness and thermal conductivity of reduced graphene oxide-BaSO₄ epoxy composites are reported here. A commercial epoxy resin and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were blended with a hardening reagent and then mixed with prepared BaSO₄-epoxy resin (B-epoxy). The reduced graphene oxide-BaSO₄-epoxy composite (rGO-B-epoxy) paste was used to coat the surfaces of Al 7205 alloy and the corrosion and thermal properties were investigated. A corrosion test in a 3.5 wt% synthetic sea water solution showed that the composite coating containing BaSO₄ had the best corrosion resistance. Moreover, the rGO-B-epoxy composite showed better protection against corrosion than the epoxy alone. The rGO-B-epoxy composite with 5 wt% BaSO₄ had an in-plane coefficient of thermal conductivity of approximately 165.0 W/m K, and the in-plane thermal diffusivity was 71.38 mm²/s. In standard thermal conductivity tests, all three samples had values below 40 W/m K. The rGO-B-epoxy composites showed good surface corrosion protection and in-plane thermal conductivity.