Corrosion control using polyelectrolyte multilayers

The corrosion of stainless steel under anodic conditions in salt solutions was strongly suppressed by an ultrathin layer of polyelectrolyte complex, applied using the layer-by-layer deposition method. Voltammetric scans over a wide potential region, as well as constant potential measurements in the metastable pitting regime, reveal the surprising effectiveness of polyelectrolyte multilayers, both hydrophilic and hydrophobic, at corrosion control, despite the significant water content and ion permeability of the thin film. (C) 2002 The Electrochemical Society.