Corrosion Protection of Metals by Conductive Polymers III. Improved Performance and Inhibition in NaCl

Abstract

AbstractThe use of conducting polymers for corrosion prevention is an area which has gained increasing attention during the last decade [1]. This study explores the use of polyaniline based polymer coatings for corrosion prevention on mild steel. Data on coating degradation and passivation on electrochemically polarized painted metal specimens exposed to acid chloride solutions and artificial seawater at an ambient temperature are presented. A Systematic comparison between controls and designated coated sample sets has been made to demonstrate good corrosion protection efficiency with synergistic effects between conductive polymers and metals by classical DC monitoring techniques. Brief comparisons are made with data from simulated marine exposure. Meanwhile, in separate experiments, electrochemical data were obtained for conductive polymer primer coatings with epoxy top-coat under fully immersed conditions by using electrochemical noise (ECN) monitoring and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) techniques to discover the initial localized corrosion phenomena in order to achieve further understanding of the protection mechanism. Additionally, electrochemical impedance (EIS) spectra were utilized for the assessment of anti-corrosion performance provided by conducting polymers to mild steel.