Enhancement of corrosion protection efficiency of iron by poly(aniline-co-amino-naphthol-sulphonic acid) nanowires coating in highly acidic medium

Abstract Nanowires of copolymers film based on aniline and 1-amino-2-naphthol-4-sulphonic acid were electrochemically synthesized on the iron electrode by cyclic voltammetry using oxalic acid as a supporting electrolyte. Protective properties of copolymer film on the iron surface in 1.0 M HCl solution was investigated by chronoamperometry, potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the copolymer film showed the significant shifting in the corrosion potential and greater charge transfer resistance. Moreover, the copolymer showed the larger degree of surface coverage onto the iron surface, reflecting the higher protection for corrosion of the iron in acidic medium. In addition, the film constitutes a physical as well as a chemical barrier layer due to the presence of –OH and –NH groups in ANSA unit, which provides passivity protection in polymer coatings. The mechanism of corrosion protection of iron by these copolymers was investigated by surface morphology and EIS techniques. In addition, by using scanning electron microscopy, the effect of morphology of copolymer on corrosion protection of metal was investigated.