Effect of graphene oxide nanoplatelets on electrochemical properties of steel substrate in saline media

Abstract

There has been increased interest in using graphene oxide (GO) in various industrial applications such as working fluids, lubricants, oil and gas fields, heavy metal removal from water, anticorrosion paints and coatings etc. We studied electrochemical properties of steel in the presence of suspended GO in saline media. GO suspension has been characterized using Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). We measured the effect of the GO concentration (0–15 ppm) on electrochemical properties of steel using different techniques: open circuit potential (OCP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), linear polarization resistance (LPR) and potentiodynamic (PD) methods. Results indicate that the suppression of corrosion is directly proportional to increasing GO concentrations in saline environments. Surface morphology of corroded samples was examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Identification of the elements at accumulated layer was estimated from peaks of energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and XRD. Increased protection abilities with increasing GO concentration have been attributed to the domination of salt layer presence at the surface of steel which occurs via precipitation of sodium chloride. Surface analysis confirm that there is no direct effect of GO on the protection behavior of steel. The presence of GO in the solution can enhance the precipitation of NaCl due to the decreased solubility NaCl which further slows down the corrosion. The pourbaix diagram shows that GO forms an anionic compound with sodium which may enhance the precipitation at working electrode.