Steel represents more than 50% of weight in vehicles, being more susceptible to
corrosion processes. Corrosion studies in these components are of great
industrial and economic interest, and anticorrosive coatings with efficiency of
superior protection is still a relevant area in materials research. Paintings
from inorganic and organic hybrid compounds have been used to produce more
effective and efficient coatings. Among polymeric coatings, epoxy resin is
considered one of the most used anticorrosion coatings, mainly due its excellent
protective properties. High barrier level is reached by reinforcing the coatings
with inorganic fillers such heavy metal, nanoparticles, silica, and now more
recently, carbon-based materials, like graphene and its derivatives. Graphene
combined with additives presented in the paint composition can act as a passive
physical barrier between the corrosive environment and the metal surface,
restricting the diffusion of corrosive agents across the metal surface. In this
work we provided a general view about the potential use of anticorrosive
protective coatings based on graphene composites in epoxy resins in the
automotive industry. We evaluated the state-of-the-art of some recent advances
in the scientific and patent research databases in the last 10 years, as well as
the existing commercial products available in the market. Finally, positive and
negative points of view were observed in the use of graphene composites in
coatings, such as the possibility of producing waterborne paint, which causes a
reduction of potential polluting materials present in paint compositions. On the
other hand, the dispersion and interactions of graphene structures along the
resins are still the main challenges in processing of these composites. Despite
facing major challenges, its versatility and noticeable studies results reveal
the capability of graphene composite coatings to attend demand protection
standards of the new car’s generation.