Investigation of Using Sol-Gel Technology for Corrosion Protection Coating Systems Incorporating Colours and Inhibitors

Abstract

Corrosion protection coatings need frequent developments to cater to different challenges arising from users. In addition to a long lasting corrosion protection, aesthetic requirements and multi-functional properties by the same coating system are prominent demands to be considered. Productivity is another vital factor to be considered, as there is a thriving demand from users to have more productive coating systems, such as a smaller number of layers in a system. Thus, attention to using different coating technologies is an essential step to fulfil these demands. This work investigates the use of sol-gel technology as a topcoat on a zinc rich primer to form a two-coat system. A colored sol-gel topcoat on a zinc primer was developed as a two-coat system to replace the current three or multi-coat systems to improve productivity while maintaining the sacrificial protective capability. The overall corrosion protection performance together with the color retaining capability was evaluated in this development. As another step forward, the development of sol-gel technology as a topcoat with additional inhibitive corrosion protection was investigated. Two corrosion inhibitors, namely molybdate and cerium(III), were loaded onto suitable inorganic oxide carriers and then incorporated into sol-gel coatings to provide an inhibitive protection other than the barrier protection. The corrosion performance of the coatings was evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Sol-gel coating with a cerium(III) system attained the highest impedance and proved to be the best candidate. The mechanical and physical properties of the coating systems are tested using international standard methods.