Surface modification of TiO2 nanoparticles with 1,1,1-Tris(hydroxymethyl)propane and its coating application effects on castor seed oil-PECH blend based urethane systems

Abstract Surface modification of peripheral hydroxyl groups of TiO2 with trimethylolpropane (TMP) was successfully carried out and characterized. This hybrid material (TiO2-TMP) was added in percentages to a polyol blend of castor seed oil (a renewable resource and nontoxic material) and poly(epichlorohydrin)-triol (PECH-triol) {a cross-linker}. After ultrasonication of the polyol blend with TiO2-TMP, through a one-pot synthesis, the mixture was made to react with polymeric 4,4′-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI) using 4-Methyl-2-pentanone as a reacting solvent. The synthesized PECH-triol and composite coating films structural elucidation was carried out using FTIR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. The pristine/undoped and composite films were subjected to specific coating evaluations such as morphology (FESEM), XRD, thermal stability, mechanical property (UTM), chemical resistance, antimicrobial activity and corrosion resistance (Tafel plot). The doped composites showed improved coating properties, especially PU-TiO2-TMP (1.0 wt%), which possesses the highest percentage of TiO2-TMP nanoparticle.