Investigation of Self-Healing Properties of Epoxy Resin Containing Carbon Nanocapsules Doped With Epoxy and Polyamine Agents Using Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique

Nowadays, self-healing process and compensating of the applied damages without any tracking of physical intervention has become one of the subjects of interest for researchers. Self-healing ability is especially used for protective coatings in order to enhance both stability and durability. In this study, carbon nanospheres were used to fabricate the self-healing protective coatings based on epoxy resin. In the first step, carbon spherical nanostructures were synthesized according to the hard templating method. In the second step, doping of epoxy and polyamine agents in the spherical structures were performed using vacuum jar method. Then, 8 wt. % of the epoxy doped carbon nanospheres and 4 wt. % of the polyamine doped carbon nanospheres in stoichiometry ratio were dispersed uniformly in epoxy matrix. Finally, the morphology of the synthesized carbon nanocapsules and self-healing performance of the fabricated coatings were evaluated using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET). The results showed that due to the applying of artificial scratches on the coatings and fracture of the doped capsules, release of epoxy and polyamine from carbon capsules and performing of curing reactions between them led to the healing of the scratch regions.