Self-healing capability of inhibitor-encapsulating polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinylidene fluoride coaxial nanofibers loaded in epoxy resin coatings

The self–healing capability of epoxy coatings modified with coaxial core–shell nanofibers loaded with the corrosion inhibitor 2–mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) was investigated using electrochemical techniques. The polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinylidene fluoride core–shell nanofibers were prepared by coaxial electrospinning. Electrochemical impedance results showed that the MBT–loaded coaxial nanofibers improved the barrier properties and decreased the corrosion activity of the coatings. Results of the Scanning Kelvin Probe technique revealed that the MBT–loaded coaxial nanofibers healed corrosion over artificial defects exposed to NaCl electrolytes. These results indicate that adding MBT–loaded coaxial nanofibers to epoxy coatings is a promising strategy toward the development of self–healing epoxy coatings.