Effect of Adding Hydrophobic Nano-Silica on Electrochemical Properties of an Acrylic-Based Polyurethane Clear Coat

Nano-coatings meet current requirements regarding environmental protection due to their excellent ornamentation, resistance to pollution, antimicrobial performance, weatherability, etc. They are used as special coatings and gain increasing importance in many applications. The incorporation of nano-particles such as TiO2, Fe2O3, ZnO, SiO2, CaCO3 into coatings improve mechanical, rheological, anticorrosion and radiation resistance properties of such coatings [1-4]. Silica containing nano-coatings show remarkable barrier properties to gases and moisture as well as very good resistance to staining [5-7]. It has been shown in a previous study that hydrophobic nano-silica could successfully be made to disperse in a chosen polymeric matrix [4]. The purpose of this investigation was to monitor the effect of presence of surface treated nano-silica particles on electrochemical properties of that same acrylic-based polyurethane system