Nanofillers based on graphene derivatives for reinforcing polyurea coatings

Polyurea is a well-known elastomer that is widely used as a protection coating due to its excellent mechanical properties and strong impact absorption. As a coating, it can be sprayed on to retrofit structures and thereby alleviate the damage by high-velocity impacts. Mechanical properties such as strength and damping are surrogate factors that determine their effectiveness. However, commercially purchased polyurea has its limits and superior mechanical properties of polyurea are desired such that it can withstand higher loads while at the same time, constructively being able to dissipate energy. Over the years, studies have shown that the use of nanofillers has played an imperative part in increasing the mechanical properties of polymeric coatings. In this work, amine-terminated polymers and isocyanates were reacted to form urea bonds with both soft and hard segments of the polyurea coating. Two-dimensional materials, i.e. graphene oxide (GO) and its derivatives were used as nanofillers to study the effect of the nanofillers in strengthening the mechanical properties. This study offers meaningful insights for designing functional coating that can be effectively used as a coating with the use of nanofillers.