Intrinsically Conducting Polymer-Based Heavy-Duty and Environmentally Friendly Coating System for Corrosion Protection of Structural Steels

This work investigates the potential use of an intrinsically conducting polymer—polyaniline—that, when mixed in polyvinyl-butyral and top-coated with an acrylic resin layer, demonstrates comparable performance to the existing coating systems, according to the experimental data from two ASTM standard tests performed to evaluate its overall corrosion durability and tensile adhesion (pull-off strength). Formulation of the polyaniline-based wash primer was provided. Scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM) was used to analyze the microscopic mechanisms of the superior performance. The polyaniline-based primer demonstrated potential surface ennobling and oxygen smearing-out capabilities in this study. Under the protection of a top coat, the primer provided both preventive and corrective protection in a smart mode. The layered structure including an ICP primer, as demonstrated in this study, constitutes a viable smart coating system for corrosion protection of metallic materials.