Conducting polyaniline/multi-wall carbon nanotubes composite paints on low carbon steel for corrosion protection: electrochemical investigations

The coaxial coating of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) with poly(aniline) (PANI) was synthesised and a paint was prepared containing conducting PANI-MWCNT composite. The corrosion protection performance was assessed by open circuit potential measurements, potentiodynamic polarisation, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The corrosion rate of low-carbon steel coated with 1.5 mass % of PANI-MWCNT-based paint in 3.5 mass % sodium chloride solution was found to be 0.037 mm y−1, about 5.2 times lower than that of unpainted low-carbon steel and 3.6 times lower than that of epoxy painted steel.