On the development of polypyrrole coatings with self-healing properties for iron corrosion protection

This paper presents studies on the efficacy and on the limits of polypyrrole (Ppy) doped with either MoO42- or [PMo12O40]3− as self-healing corrosion protecting coatings. The kinetics of the cathodic delamination were studied by means of the Scanning Kelvin Probe (SKP). This method, in combination with cyclic voltammetry, UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), shows a potential driven anion release from the Ppy coating that results in an inhibition of the corrosion process taking place in the defect. Thus, an intelligent release of inhibitor occurs only when the potential at the interface decreases. Inhibitor anions are released only due to an active defect. However, the release mechanism can be easily negatively affected by the presence of small cations and/or by too high pH values at the buried interface. Hence, such a self-healing coating has to be carefully designed in order to ensure an effective performance.