Enhancement of corrosion protection effect in mechanochemically synthesized Polyaniline/MMT clay nanocomposites

Nanocomposite material that consists of DBSA (dodecylbenzensulfonic acid) doped polyaniline (PANI) was prepared by solvent free mechanochemical intercalation method. Organic aniline monomer was first intercalated into the interlayer regions of Na-MMT (sodium montmorillonite) clay hosts and followed by one-step oxidative polymerization. The as synthesized polyaniline clay nanocomposites were treated with DBSA to get PANI-DBSA clay nanocomposites. PANI-DBSA clay nanocomposites in the form of coatings at different concentrations of DBSA on C45 steel were found much superior in corrosion protection over those of conventional polyaniline, based on the series of electrochemical measurement of corrosion potential, polarization resistance and corrosion current in 3.5% aqueous NaCl electrolyte. UV-visible spectroscopy, FT-IR and SEM studies confirm the formation of intercalated polyaniline clay nanocomposites inside the clay nanolayers.