Abstract
The interfacial adhesion between polymer coatings and oxide substrates is a critical issue to improve the durability of the protective systems used in aggressive environments. Despite extensive research on polymer coatings, the atomistic understanding of the temperature-dependent adhesion behavior of polyurea on silica (SiO2) surfaces remains limited. In this study, the adhesion behavior of polyurea on a silica (SiO2) surface as a function of the temperature was investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. Atomistic models were created for the evaluation of interfacial interaction energy at polymer–substrate interface. The results reveal that polyurea forms a thermally stable interface with the silica with the adhesion behavior increasing gradually at elevated temperatures owing to increased mobility of polymer chains and an increasing contact between the interface. The results indicate that the adhesion performance can be further improved by surface pretreatment of silica or functional additives or nanomaterials in the polyurea matrix. This study gives essential knowledge about polymer-oxide interactions and provides a direction for design of advanced coating systems for pipeline marine and infrastructure applications.