Corrosion protection of cold-rolled steel with alkyd paint coatings composited with submicron-structure types polypyrrole-modified nano-size alumina and carbon nanotubes

This paper is focused on studying corrosion protection of cold-rolled steel with alkyd paint coatings comprising nano-size alumina and either polystyrene-sulphonate (PSS) modified or sulphonated multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) supported polypyrrole (PPy). Single layer coatings (in thickness of 40 ± 5 μm) comprising PPy deposited alumina and PSS modified MWCNT supported PPy afforded viable protection during the 1 M sodium chloride test. The coatings containing PSS modified and weakly sulphonated MWCNTs (at volume fractions of 9.9 × 10−4 and 2.5 × 10−4) with PPy volume fractions of 3.5 × 10−3 and 2.5 × 10−3 provided effective corrosion prevention during the 1 M sodium chloride and hydrochloric acid solution tests. While inhibitor particles were characterised by infrared spectroscopy, corrosion products formed at the paint–steel interface were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Apart from the electron microscopy observations, rheology study of three-dimensional structure of the inhibitor particles was performed in dispersions at similar compositions to those used for the paint formulations. Thus, protection mechanism relating to both types of immersion tests is discussed in terms of properties of the inhibitor particles and their microstructure in the coatings.