Preparation, adhesion and barrier properties of bituminous composite coatings on steel 37

A series of bitumen/nano clay nanocomposite have been prepared through solvent intercalation technique by using mechanical agitation and sonication process. The structure of nanocomposite coatings was investigated by TEM, low angle X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. To investigate barrier properties of nanocomposite coatings, polarization, salt fog test and pull-off adhesion tests have been employed. The results showed that bitumen/MMT nanocomposite coatings were superior to the pristine bitumen coating in corrosion protection effects. Also, it was observed that the corrosion protection of bitumen/clay nanocomposite coatings improved as the clay loading is increased up to 4 wt.%.