Corrosion protective poly(o-toluidine)/ZrO2 nanocomposite coatings on copper

Keywords:
corrosion protection, conducting polymer nanocomposites, ZrO2, poly(o-toluidine), copper, electrochemical polymerization

Abstract:
This study explores the possibility of using poly(o-toluidine)/ZrO2 (POT-ZrO2) nanocomposite coatings for corrosion protection of copper (Cu) in chloride environment. In this work, POT-ZrO2 nanocomposite coatings were synthesized on Cu through an electrochemical route. These coatings were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The performance of POT-ZrO2 nanocomposite as protective coating against corrosion of Cu in aqueous 3% NaCl was evaluated by the potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results of this study demonstrate that the POT-ZrO2 nanocomposite coating provides better protection to Cu against corrosion as compared to that offered by the pure POT coating. The corrosion potential was about 0.150 V versus SCE more positive in 3% NaCl for the nanocomposite coated Cu than that of uncoated Cu and reduces the corrosion rate of Cu almost by a factor of 538.

Nanotech 2008 Conference Program Abstract