Influence of polyaniline and cerium oxide nanoparticles on the corrosion protection properties of alkyd coating

•PAni and CeO2 were used as anticorrosive pigments inside alkyd coating.•The coating with PAni showed significant stability by means of EIS evaluation.•The addition of CeO2 improved the anticorrosive resistance of the alkyd.

A study of the anticorrosive properties of an alkyd coating loaded with polyaniline and cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles is presented in this paper. Investigated by means of Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and accelerated salt spray test, the blank alkyd coating has been loaded with PAni, ceria nanoparticles and the combination of both with 1.0 wt.% content. Through the monitoring of open circuit potential, an ennoblement effect was detected for the systems in the presence of a mild solution. Moreover, EIS evolution of the alkyd containing polyaniline revealed a stable performance of the system in the presence of sulphate solution, whereas for those containing ceria nanoparticles a considerable raise in the |Z|0.015 Hz, from 107 to 108 Ω cm2 in the course of 24 h of immersion, an increasing trend of the charge transfer resistance during the equivalent period of exposure was observed. Furthermore, the anticorrosive contribution given by the ceria nanoparticles is supported by the accelerated salt spray test which revealed lower delamination rates. In the case of the alkyd loaded with polyaniline and ceria nanoparticles simultaneously the evidences are less perceived by means of electrochemical analysis, however, from salt spray tests it can be seen that the influence of the mixture is promising at a certain extent.