Low carbon steel surface modification by an effective corrosion protective nanocomposite film based on neodymium-polyacrylic acid-benzimidazole

This study introduces the surface modification of the low carbon steel by an effective corrosion protective composite film based on Nd-PAA-BI (neodymium-polyacrylic acid-benzimidazole). The surface characteristics of the samples were investigated by FE-SEM (Field emission scanning electron microscope), EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy), ATR (attenuated total reflection), XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), AFM (atomic force microscope) and contact angle measurements. Also, EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and PDS (Potentiodynamic spectroscopy) analyses were utilized to survey the corrosion resistance of the untreated and treated samples. Results showed the uniform precipitation of Nd oxide/hydroxide and Nd complexes over the surface of the steel. Nd-PAA-BI showed the highest roughness, contact angle and corrosion resistance values compared to the other samples. The desirable corrosion protection provided by Nd-PAA-BI treatment was attributed to the synergism impact by BI and PAA besides chelates and complexes formation. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.