Effect of nano-ZnO particles on the corrosion resistance of polyurethane-based waterborne coatings immersed in sodium chloride solution via EIS technique

Nano-composite coatings were formed by incorporating 3 wt% nano-ZnO in a polyurethane-based waterborne coating. The nano-ZnO based composite coatings were applied on standard phosphated steel panels by cathodic electrodeposition. The electrodeposited nano-composite coatings were then baked for 20 min at 165 °C. To investigate the corrosion resistance of the coatings, the coated panels were immersed in 3.5 wt% NaCl solutions for 2880 h (120 days). The improvement in corrosion performance of the composite coatings was evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique. It was found that the films containing nano-sized ZnO particles show a corrosion resistance of 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of the neat films.