Tailoring thermal, mechanical, flammability, and corrosion performance of PLA/PEG coatings by quaternary ammonium salts
Progress in Organic Coatings, cilt.220, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 220
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.porgcoat.2026.110469
- Dergi Adı: Progress in Organic Coatings
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, INSPEC, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Engineering Source (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Corrosion performance, Flame retardancy, Multifunctional polymer coatings, PLA/PEG composites, Quaternary ammonium salts
- Kocaeli Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Poly(lactic acid)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PLA/PEG)-based coatings modified with quaternary ammonium salts (QASs) were developed to clarify how salt chemistry and loading govern multifunctional coating performance, a question that remains insufficiently resolved in prior QAS-modified PLA systems, which have been focused mainly on antibacterial or biomedical applications rather than corrosion-relevant coating behavior. Tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TH) and tetrapropylammonium chloride (TCL) were used as model ionic additives. FTIR and SEM–EDX confirmed the presence and retention of the salts and indicated their distribution over the analysed film surfaces. TH produced stronger improvements in the mechanical, thermal, and flame-retardant properties of the PLA/PEG matrix, increasing the Young's modulus from 1484.84 to 3469.17 MPa, raising the yield strength to 40.71 MPa, and increasing the LOI from 23.4% for PLA/PEG to 28.2% for PLA/PEG/TH5. TH also improved thermal stability, with PLA/PEG/TH1 showing a Tonset of 332.1 °C. In contrast, TCL produced a distinctly nonlinear and concentration-sensitive response, promoting dual melting behavior and greater crystalline heterogeneity at higher loadings. Corrosion measurements further showed that improved bulk properties did not necessarily translate into superior electrochemical protection; in seawater, PLA/PEG/TH1 exhibited the lowest corrosion current and corrosion rate, at 1.022 × 10−7 A and 1.048 × 10−7 g h−1, respectively. Overall, the results demonstrate that QASs in PLA/PEG coatings act as composition-dependent multifunctional modifiers, and that coating performance is governed by the trade-off between matrix stabilization and electrolyte transport. This study establishes a practical structure-property-performance framework for designing biodegradable multifunctional organic coatings.