Corrosion inhibition of particulate and tubular polyaniline in polyvinyl butyral for mild steel protection

Currently available anticorrosion additives for metals consist of chromates that present safety concerns due to their toxicity. Thereby, this study investigated an environmentally friendly substitute coating additive of particulate and tubular polyaniline (PANI) in the polyvinyl butyral (PVB) coating. The PANIs were analysed by TEM, FT-IR and BET surface area analysis. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel polarisation analyses were conducted to evaluate the coating performance in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution for 30 days. The higher surface area of tubular PANI successfully inhibits the corrosion of mild steel by having the lowest corrosion rate at (5.730 +/- 0.819) x 10-4 mm/year compared to particulate PANI as an anticorrosion additive in the PVB coating.

Automated summary

This study investigates the use of environmentally friendly substitute coating additive, particulate and tubular polyaniline (PANI) in the polyvinyl butyral (PVB) coating, as a replacement for toxic chromates. The PANIs were analyzed using TEM, FT-IR, and BET surface area analysis. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel polarization analyses were performed to evaluate the coating performance, and it was found that the higher surface area of tubular PANI effectively inhibits mild steel corrosion, with the lowest corrosion rate of (5.730 +/- 0.819) x 10-4 mm/year compared to particulate PANI in the PVB coating.