The effect of amorphous chalcogenides on mechanical and anticorrosive properties of protective organic coatings containing high amounts of zinc metal particles

The objective of this paper concerns reduction of zinc metal content in organic coatings while preserving their high anticorrosive efficiency. The two goals can be achieved by using amorphous chalcogenides as components of the protective coating. Special attention was paid to materials containing Ge20Se80, Ge30Se70 and Ge40Se60, which were characterized by physico-chemical properties. An epoxy ester resin was used as binder for the investigated organic coatings. Organic coatings were prepared by combining zinc metal with amorphous chalcogenides. The resistance of the prepared films was evaluated using the results of mechanical tests. The anticorrosive efficiency of the prepared films was evaluated using the results of direct corrosion tests. Thus the following conclusion can be made from the results of anticorrosive tests: the higher the pigment volume concentration of amorphous chalcogenides in the coatings, the higher the protective performance of the paint against corrosion. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.