{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T12:51:51Z","timestamp":1791982311831,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,4]],"date-time":"2023-07-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1688428800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Deputyship for Research &amp; Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia","award":["IFKSUDR-P108"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["IFKSUDR-P108"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Zirconia (ZrO2) nanoparticles (1\u20133 wt.%) were incorporated into the epoxy matrix using the ultra-sonication mixing method of dispersion to manufacture nanocomposite coatings. An automatic applicator was used to prepare the coating samples on a stainless steel substrate. The influence of ZrO2 nanoparticles on the physicochemical characteristics of epoxy coatings was evaluated using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermos-gravimetric analysis (TGA), elastic modulus, and micro-hardness measurement with the nano-indentation technique. The corrosion stability during immersion in 3.5% NaCl solution was monitored using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). All ZrO2-containing coatings showed better corrosion stability and adhesion than pure epoxy coating. Epoxy coating incorporated with 2% ZrO2 exhibited the greatest values of corrosion resistance and adhesion due to the effect of nanoparticle properties and their better de-agglomeration in the epoxy matrix than pure epoxy coating.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma16134813","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,5]],"date-time":"2023-07-05T00:37:28Z","timestamp":1688517448000},"page":"4813","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["The Effect of Zirconia Nanoparticles on Thermal, Mechanical, and Corrosion Behavior of Nanocomposite Epoxy Coatings on Steel Substrates"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Mohammad Asif","family":"Alam","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5376-9903","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ubair Abdus","family":"Samad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9384-9067","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arfat","family":"Anis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SABIC Polymer Research Center (SPRC), Chemical Engineering Department, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2080-8552","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"El-Sayed M.","family":"Sherif","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7260-639X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hany S.","family":"Abdo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saeed M.","family":"Al-Zahrani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SABIC Polymer Research Center (SPRC), Chemical Engineering Department, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5890","DOI":"10.1039\/C6TC01210H","article-title":"An overview of multifunctional epoxy nanocomposites","volume":"4","author":"Gu","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Mater. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"781","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1013844015493","article-title":"Toughening of a brittle thermosetting polymer: Effects of reinforcement particle size and volume fraction","volume":"37","author":"Singh","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Mater. Sci."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3245","DOI":"10.1007\/s10853-008-2547-8","article-title":"Improvement of tensile properties and toughness of an epoxy resin by nanozirconium-dioxide reinforcement","volume":"43","author":"Medina","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Mater. Sci."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1016\/j.corsci.2010.09.026","article-title":"Corrosion performance of epoxy coatings containing silane treated ZrO2 nanoparticles on mild steel in 3.5% NaCl solution","volume":"53","author":"Behzadnasab","year":"2011","journal-title":"Corros. Sci."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2095","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesa.2012.07.002","article-title":"Effect of various combinations of zirconia and organoclay nanoparticles on mechanical and thermal properties of an epoxy nanocomposite coating","volume":"43","author":"Mirabedini","year":"2012","journal-title":"Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"134","DOI":"10.1016\/j.corsci.2013.05.024","article-title":"Corrosion protection of steel by epoxy nanocomposite coatings containing various combinations of clay and nanoparticulate zirconia","volume":"75","author":"Behzadnasab","year":"2013","journal-title":"Corros. Sci."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"873","DOI":"10.1163\/092764410X539253","article-title":"Improving Epoxy Adhesives with Zirconia Nanoparticles","volume":"17","author":"Dorigato","year":"2010","journal-title":"Compos. Interface"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rao, T.N., Hussain, I., Lee, J.E., Kumar, A., and Koo, B.H. (2019). Enhanced Thermal Properties of Zirconia Nanoparticles and Chitosan-Based Intumescent Flame Retardant Coatings. Appl. Sci., 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/app9173464"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ibrahim, M., Kannan, K., Parangusan, H., Eldeib, S., Shehata, O., Ismail, M., Zarandah, R., and Sadasivuni, K.K. (2020). Enhanced Corrosion Protection of Epoxy\/ZnO-NiO Nanocomposite Coatings on Steel. Coatings, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings10080783"},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"(2021). Standard Test Methods for Hardness of Organic Coatings by Pendulum Damping Tests (Standard No. ASTM D-4366)."},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"(2020). Standard Test Method for Evaluation of Scratch Resistance of Polymeric Coatings and Plastics Using an Instrumented Scratch Machine (Standard No. ASTM D-7027)."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"(2019). Standard Test Method for Resistance of Organic Coatings to the Effects of Rapid Deformation (Impact) (Standard No. ASTM D-2794)."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"215","DOI":"10.1016\/j.polymer.2019.02.006","article-title":"Synergistic effect of polypyrrole and reduced graphene oxide on mechanical, electrical and thermal properties of epoxy adhesives","volume":"166","author":"Aradhana","year":"2019","journal-title":"Polymer"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1755","DOI":"10.1002\/pen.25698","article-title":"Polyaniline nanorod adsorbed on reduced graphene oxide nanosheet for enhanced dielectric, viscoelastic and thermal properties of epoxy nanocomposites","volume":"61","author":"Kunju","year":"2021","journal-title":"Polym. Eng. Sci."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tikhani, F., Hadavand, B.S., Bafghi, H.F., Jouyandeh, M., Vahabi, H., Formela, K., Hosseini, H., Paran, S.M.R., Esmaeili, A., and Mohaddespour, A. (2020). Polyurethane\/Silane-Functionalized ZrO2 Nanocomposite Powder Coatings: Thermal Degradation Kinetics. Coatings, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings10040413"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Atta, A.M., Ahmed, M.A., El-Saeed, A.M., Abo-Elenien, O.M., and El-Sockary, M.A. (2020). Hybrid ZrO2\/Cr2O3 Epoxy Nanocomposites as Organic Coatings for Steel. Coatings, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings10100997"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"697","DOI":"10.1177\/0954008315595275","article-title":"Morphological, structural, and thermophysical properties of zirconium dioxide\u2013epoxy nanocomposites","volume":"28","author":"Halder","year":"2016","journal-title":"High Perform. Polym."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3121","DOI":"10.1016\/S1452-3981(23)14378-1","article-title":"Fabrication of Various Epoxy Coatings for Offshore Applications and Evaluating Their Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Behavior","volume":"8","author":"Alam","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Electrochem. Sci."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"191","DOI":"10.1016\/S0257-8972(01)01340-8","article-title":"Investigation of creep behaviour under load during indentation experiments and its influence on hardness and modulus results","volume":"148","author":"Chudoba","year":"2001","journal-title":"Surf. Coat. Technol."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"74","DOI":"10.20964\/2017.01.01","article-title":"Effects of Minor Additions of Polypyrrole on the Thermal, Mechanical and Electrochemical Properties of Epoxy-2Pack Coatings","volume":"12","author":"Alam","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Electrochem. Sci."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1564","DOI":"10.1557\/JMR.1992.1564","article-title":"An Improved Technique for Determining Hardness and Elastic-Modulus Using Load and Displacement Sensing Indentation Experiments","volume":"7","author":"Oliver","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Mater. Res."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100103","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcomc.2020.100103","article-title":"Nanoindentation characterization of polymer nanocomposites for elastic and viscoelastic properties: Experimental and mathematical approach","volume":"4","author":"Arora","year":"2021","journal-title":"Compos. Part C Open Access"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1016\/j.porgcoat.2018.02.018","article-title":"Enhancing mechanical properties of epoxy\/polyaniline coating with addition of ZnO nanoparticles: Nanoindentation characterization","volume":"119","author":"Samad","year":"2018","journal-title":"Prog. Org. Coat."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Abdus Samad, U., Alam, M.A., Sherif, E.-S.M., Alam, M., Shaikh, H., Alharthi, N.H., and Al-Zahrani, S.M.J.C. (2019). Synergistic effect of Ag and ZnO nanoparticles on polypyrrole-incorporated epoxy\/2pack coatings and their corrosion performances in chloride solutions. Coatings, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings9050287"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4000","DOI":"10.1166\/jnn.2019.16336","article-title":"Reinforcing Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles to Enhance Viscoelastic Performance of Epoxy Nanocomposites","volume":"19","author":"Bansal","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Alam, M.A., Samad, U.A., Sherif, E.-S.M., Poulose, A.M., Mohammed, J.A., Alharthi, N., and Al-Zahrani, S.M. (2020). Influence of SiO2 Content and Exposure Periods on the Anticorrosion Behavior of Epoxy Nanocomposite Coatings. Coatings, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings10020118"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Alam, M.A., Samad, U.A., Alam, M., Anis, A., and Al-Zahrani, S.M. (2020). Enhancement in Nanomechanical, Thermal, and Abrasion Properties of SiO2 Nanoparticle-Modified Epoxy Coatings. Coatings, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings10040310"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02697959","article-title":"Coating evaluation and validation of accelerated test conditions using an in-situ corrosion sensor","volume":"74","author":"Davis","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Coat. Technol."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"El Rayes, M.M., Sherif, E.-S.M., and Abdo, H.S. (2022). Comparative Study into Microstructural and Mechanical Characterization of HVOF-WC-Based Coatings. Crystals, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/cryst12070969"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Samad, U.A., Alam, M.A., Anis, A., Abdo, H.S., Shaikh, H., and Al-Zahrani, S.M. (2022). Nanomechanical and Electrochemical Properties of ZnO-Nanoparticle-Filled Epoxy Coatings. Coatings, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings12020282"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sherif, E.-S.M., El Danaf, E.A., Abdo, H.S., El Abedin, S.Z., and Al-Khazraji, H. (2017). Effect of Annealing Temperature on the Corrosion Protection of Hot Swaged Ti-54M Alloy in 2 M HCl Pickling Solutions. Metals, 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/met7010029"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1021\/ie50457a041","article-title":"Electrolytic Resistance in Evaluating Protective Merit of Coatings on Metals","volume":"40","author":"Bacon","year":"1948","journal-title":"Ind. Eng. Chem."}],"container-title":["Materials"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/16\/13\/4813\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T20:05:56Z","timestamp":1760126756000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/16\/13\/4813"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,4]]},"references-count":32,"journal-issue":{"issue":"13","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7]]}},"alternative-id":["ma16134813"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ma16134813","relation":{},"ISSN":["1996-1944"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1996-1944","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,4]]}}}