Protecting copper from electrochemical degradation by graphene coating

Graphene coating on copper (Cu) is shown to increase the resistance of the metal to electrochemical degradation by one and half orders of magnitude. Detailed electrochemical characterization in aggressive chloride environment shows the impedance of Cu increasing dramatically and the anodic and cathodic current densities of the coated Cu becoming nearly 1–2 orders of magnitude smaller when coated with graphene. The observations are counterintuitive as graphite in contact with metals increases metallic corrosion. The results can bring paradigm changes in the development of anti-corrosion coatings using conformal, ultrathin graphene films.