Enhancement of corrosion protection of AISI 304 stainless steel by nanostructured sol-gel TiO2 films

Nanostructured TiO2 thin films were deposited on AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel by sol-gel process, dip coating technique. Influence of the number of layers, addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in initial sol, morphology and the surface roughness parameters of titania films on corrosion resistance of coated stainless steel were examined. Prepared films were characterized by SEM-EDS and AFM analysis. Electrochemical corrosion behavior of the coated stainless steel substrates was evaluated in simulated marine environment in 3 wt.% aqueous NaCl solution by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and in 0.5 M aqueous HCl solution by potentiodynamic polarization. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.