Electrochemical synthesis and corrosion performance of poly(pyrrole-co-o-anisidine)

The electrochemical synthesis of poly(o-anisidine) homopolymer and its copolymerization with pyrrole have been investigated on mild steel. The copolymer films have been synthesized from aqueous oxalic acid solutions containing different ratios of monomer concentrations: pyrrole:o-anisidine, 9:1, 8:2, 6:4, 1:1. The characterization of polymer films were achieved with FT-IR, UV–visible spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry techniques. The electrochemical synthesis of homogeneous-stable poly(o-anisidine) film with desired thickness was very difficult on steel surface. Therefore its copolymer with pyrrole has been studied to obtain a polymer film, which could be synthesized easily and posses the good physical–chemical properties of anisidine. The kinetics and rate of copolymer film growth were strongly related to monomer feed ratio. The introduction of pyrrole unit into synthesis solution increased the rate of polymerization and the substrate surface became covered with polymer film soon, while this process required longer periods in single o-anisidine containing solution. The protective behavior of coatings has been investigated against steel corrosion in 3.5% NaCl solution. For this aim electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and anodic polarization curves were utilized. The synthesized poly(o-anisidine) coating exhibited significant protection efficiency against mild steel corrosion. It was shown that 6:4 ratio of pyrrole and anisidine solution gave the most stable and corrosion protective copolymer coating.