Potential of zinc based-graphene oxide composite coatings on mild steel in acidic solution

Abstract

This study introduces varying concentrations of graphene oxide (GO) as a filler into zinc chromate in forming composite coatings to improve the corrosion protection of mild steel. The purity of synthesized GO was inferred through the application of complementary characterization techniques, including FT-IR, XRD, Raman, SEM-EDX, and TEM analyses. GO doped zinc chromate coatings were deposited on the surface of mild steel through the brushing method. Electrochemical studies, i.e., electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization (PD) were conducted to elucidate the anticorrosion properties of the coated mild steel exposed to 0.5 ​M HCl solution. It was revealed that the highest anticorrosion protection was attained at low doping amount of 0.5% of GO with a corrosion rate of 0.036 mpy. Surface analyses revealed that incorporating GO into zinc chromate coating can effectively improve the anticorrosion properties and adhesion strength.