Electrochemical Deposition of N-Heterocyclic Carbene on Steels As a Corrosion Protective Layer

Abstract

Steels play a vital role in every aspect of day-to-day life. They are major components in construction,transportation, medicine, and etc. Despite their larger usability, steels are suffering from inevitablecorrosion. Hence, finding a sustainable solution for corrosion has been a hot topic in the research field forcenturies. One extensively studied strategy is applying a protective layer on top of metals. The recentfindings show that N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) has the potency to form a carbon-metal bond throughself-assembling1 or electrochemical deposition2 on different metals such as Au, Pt, Pd, and Ag. Herein, weare trying to coat NHC on mild steel (MS) through electrochemical deposition to act as a corrosionprotective layer. Deposition conditions will be optimized by varying the material concentrations, appliedvoltages, time durations, and substrate roughness. The NHC-coated surface is characterized by X-rayPhotoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI), and AtomicForce Microscope-Infrared Spectroscopy (AFM-IR). In addition, the contact angle measurements can beattributed to visualizing the differences in coatings under different conditions. The corrosion studies areutilized to understand the corrosion-resistant properties of the NHC coating. Moreover, the NHC moietycan be modified to perform better to inhibit corrosion and improve the properties of mild steel on theirapplications. Ultimately, this benchtop approach will be utilized and tested on a large scale and industriallevel.(1) Crudden, C. M.; Horton, J. H.; Ebralidze, I. I.; Zenkina, O. V.; McLean, A. B.; Drevniok, B.; She, Z.; Kraatz,H.-B.; Mosey, N. J.; Seki, T. Ultra stable self-assembled monolayers of N-heterocyclic carbenes on gold. Nat. Chem. 2014, 6 (5), 409-414.(2) Amit, E.; Dery, L.; Dery, S.; Kim, S.; Roy, A.; Hu, Q.; Gutkin, V.; Eisenberg, H.; Stein, T.; Mandler, D.Electrochemical deposition of N-heterocyclic carbene monolayers on metal surfaces. Nat. Commun. 2020, 11 (1), 1-10.