Investigations on the performance of poly(o-toluidine)/silicon dioxide nanocomposite coatings for the corrosion protection of mild steel

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the presence of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) nanoparticles in o-toluidine monomer as a reactant and ammonium persulfate as an oxidant to obtain the poly(o-toluidine) (POT)/SiO₂ nanocomposites by oxidative polymerization method.

Design/methodology/approach

Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the structural properties of the composite. POT/SiO₂ nanocomposites were mixed with acrylic resin through a solution mixing method and the composites were coated onto the surface of mild steel. Electrochemical measurements were used to determine the corrosion protection efficiency (P.E.%) of polymer composite coatings using 3.5% NaCl solution as corrosion environment.

Findings

The results obtained reveals that the POT/SiO₂/acrylic resin composite coatings have got higher corrosion P.E.% than that of POT/acrylic resin coatings.

Originality/value

The formation of uniformly passive layer in the POT/SiO₂ composite was used to enhance the P.E.% on mild steel surface. The POT/SiO₂/acrylic resin nanocomposites showed effective anticorrosive behavior on mild steel in 3.5% NaCl solution.

Citation

Rajendran, R., Muthukrishnan, K. and Chinnapiyan, V. (2022), "Investigations on the performance of poly(o-toluidine)/silicon dioxide nanocomposite coatings for the corrosion protection of mild steel", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 69 No. 6, pp. 586-591. https://doi.org/10.1108/ACMM-01-2022-2591