Adhesion enhancement and protection of concrete against aggressive environment using graphite-Fe2O3 modified epoxy coating

•Synthetized Fe2O3 NPs into a graphite matrix offered promising adhesion values.•3 wt% composite into epoxy resin fulfil a compromise between adhesion and solubility.•An improvement over a 20% in adhesion was detected before and after ageing.•Better abrasion resistance in the nano-enabled epoxy resin than the original one.