Synergistic Enhancement of Anti‐Corrosion Performance by Acrylate‐Epoxy Hybrid Emulsion and Functionalized Boron Nitride

ABSTRACT This work focuses on developing water‐based anti‐corrosion coatings through a dual‐strategy approach combining resin design and functional fillers. First, hydrogenated epoxy resin was used as the backbone and reacted with acrylic acid to produce a modified resin (XYA), in which the epoxy resin was ring‐opened on one side and grafted with hydrophilic groups to prepare for subsequent emulsion polymerization, and its structure was verified via NMR and FTIR. XYA was then emulsion‐polymerized with n‐butyl acrylate, glycidyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate, and styrene to prepare an acrylate‐epoxy hybrid emulsion. The XYA content was optimized based on emulsion gelation rate, and emulsion stability was evaluated. After film formation, systematic testing of adhesion, pencil hardness, impact resistance, and water absorption rate determined the optimal formulation. The results indicate that the emulsion formulation containing 15% XYA exhibits the most favorable comprehensive properties. Boron nitride surfaces were utilized for in situ growth of ZIF‐8 loaded with benzimidazole (BI), constructing an active filler (M/H‐BN) with both shielding and anti‐corrosion functions. Its microstructure, crystal phase, and elemental composition were characterized using SEM, XRD, EDS, and XPS. Finally, M/H‐BN was dispersed in the aforementioned acrylic‐epoxy hybrid emulsion to prepare composite coatings, investigating the synergistic effect of filler loading on anti‐corrosion and mechanical properties. The results indicated a significant improvement in anti‐corrosion performance at a 20% solid content of M/H‐BN.