Hierarchical design of microcapsules-based epoxy resin coating enhanced with Ti3C2Tx for improving thermal, tribological, anti-corrosive performance

Self-lubricating coating has sparked significant research interest due to its remarkable tribology performance. However, traditional microcapsules-based self-lubricating coating still faces challenges in long-term serviceability and poor anti-corrosion performance. In this paper, a novel self-lubricating epoxy resin coating was proposed based on hierarchical design and energy wear theory. Microcapsules (MC) containing Polyalphaolefin (PAO40) were prepared via the solvent evaporation approach. Ti3C2Tx MXene (T) with high thermal conductivity was then incorporated into the MC-enhanced epoxy resin coating (EP) to construct the novel self-lubricating EP coating (T-MC-EP). Compared to the EP coating, the thermal conductivity of the T-MC-EP coating increased by 79.4%. Finite element analysis indicated that T constructed thermally conductive network in the coating, serving as the main heat carrier. Furthermore, the wear rate decreased by 91.2%, primarily attributed to the formation of lubricating oil film during friction and the reduction of epoxy resin molecular oxidation fracture caused by friction heat. After 31 days of salt spray testing, the T-MC-EP coating also exhibited superior anti-corrosion performance. This work provides an innovative insight into designing multifunctional coating, including excellent mechanical, thermal, tribological, and anti-corrosive performance.