Development of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-co-indole-5-carboxylic acid) co-polymer coatings on passivated low-nickel stainless steel for enhanced corrosion resistance in the sulphuric acid medium

The present study deals with the successful development of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-co-indole-5-carboxylic acid) co-polymer coatings on passivated low-nickel stainless steel (LN SS) by electropolymerization. The structural and morphological evaluation of the co-polymer coatings were performed using various analytical techniques. Also, the effect of monomer feed ratio on the morphological behaviour of the co-polymer coatings was studied towards the protection efficiency of LN SS in 0.5 M H2SO4. The results demonstrated that the co-polymer coating on passivated LN SS improved the corrosion protection efficiency at the feed ratio 50:50 and hence the as-coated LN SS can serve as a prospective material for industrial applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.