Novel conducting polymeric nanocomposites embedded with nanoclay: synthesis, photoluminescence, and corrosion protection performance

In this work, new nanoclay composites were prepared through in situ polymerization for reported conducting polyarylidenes based on cyclopentanone and cyclohexanone moieties in the main chain. Additionally, a novel conducting polymer (CP), based on cycloheptanone, was synthesized along with its nanoclays. The studied materials were characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The main objective was to study the effect of nanoclay modification and ring size on CP solubility, thermal behavior, optical properties, and corrosion inhibition effects. The obtained results showed enhanced solubility and thermal stability of the nanocomposites compared to their original CPs. Moreover, all materials emitted efficiently in the solid state with luminescence enhancement and dependence on aggregation. Furthermore, these CPs and their nanoclays were checked as corrosion inhibitors against mild steel dissolution in acidic media. Cycloheptanone nanocomposites showed the highest inhibition efficiency (95.92%), confirming that the presence of nanoclays can enhance the CP's ability to retard the corrosion by covering more surface area of the metal. This study presents ways to enhance the solubility, thermal stability, and corrosion inhibition efficiency of CPs using nanoclay modification. Additionally, these nanoclays may be used as solid-state luminescent materials and mixed inhibitors.