Effect of ZnO Nanoparticles on the Anticorrosion Properties of Epoxy Coating

Abstract

Homogeneous epoxy coating obtained by embedding ZnO nanoparticles (≤50 nm) in the epoxy matrix, was applied on Grade A naval steel substrates by dipcoating method. The morphology and microstructure of the coatings were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with electron diffraction spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The effect of nanoparticles on the corrosion resistance of the hybrid coatings was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization method. The coated steel samples were electrochemically monitored over the 30 days of immersion in 5 wt.% NaCl solution. The incorporation of a small amount of ZnO nanoparticles (1 wt.%) has a beneficial effect, significantly improving the anticorrosion behavior of coating in terms of polarization resistance and corrosion rate, parameters estimated from Tafel curves.