Advanced anticorrosion coating materials prepared from fluoro-polyaniline-silica composites with synergistic effect of superhydrophobicity and redox catalytic capability

Abstract In this paper, novel advanced anticorrosion coating materials with synergistic effect of super-hydrophobicity properties (contact angle ca ~ 161°) and redox catalytic capability were prepared from fluoro-substituted polyaniline incorporated with methyl triethoxysilane (MTMS)-base silsesquioxane spheres. First of all, fluoropolyaniline (F-PANI) was synthesized by conventionally oxidative polymerization with ammonium persulfate as oxidant. On the other hand, silsesquioxane spheres with diameter of ~ 300 nm were prepared by “Stober process” with the MTMS as a precursor. Subsequently, the silsesquioxane spheres and F-PANI were blended into N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), followed by casting onto cold-rolled steel (CRS) electrode to give super-hydrophobic surface coating with thickness of ~ 6 μm. Corrosion protection of as-prepared coating materials on CRS was investigated based on a series of electrochemical measurements in saline condition. It should be noted that the as-prepared coating materials exhibited superior corrosion protection effect on cold-rolled steel (CRS) electrode and provide an effective barrier to aggressive species.