Corrosion protection performance of functionalized graphene oxide nanocomposite coating on mild steel

Corrosion resistance coating film based on the formation of nanocomposite coating is reported in this study. Graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized with 4-nitro aniline and characterized by Raman, Fourier Transformation Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Thermal property of the functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) was examined by Thermogravimetric-Differential Thermal Analysis (TG-DTA) technique. The composite consisted of FGO and epoxy resin (EP) was coated on the mild steel substrate and the corrosion protection performance and barrier protection properties were monitored using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization studies. Incorporation of 0.5 wt. % of FGO in an EP enhanced the corrosion resistance of coating compared to the pure EP coating. Well dispersed nano composite coating effectively increases the barrier properties by increasing the path way of the corrosive electrolytes to reach the metal-coating interface.