Improved properties of polyolefin nanocomposite coatings modified with ceria nanoparticles loaded with 2-mercaptobenzothiazole

Abstract

Ceria nanoparticles (CNPs) were loaded with a corrosion inhibitor 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole (2-MBT), and used as an anticorrosive pigment. For that, the proposed additive was thoroughly mixed (1 wt%) into a Polyolefin matrix to form a nanocomposite coating that was applied on steel substrates. For comparison, non-modified polyolefin coatings, serving as reference were also prepared. Transmission-electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of the corrosion inhibitor (2-MBT) onto the CNPs. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) techniques confirmed ~40 wt% loading capacity of the CNPs. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis of the coatings demonstrated higher and more durable corrosion protection efficiency of the modified polyolefin nanocomposite coatings compared to the reference coatings. The improved corrosion resistance can be attributed to a synergistic combination of corrosion inhibition due to the release of 2-MBT from CNPs and an effective distribution of the anti-corrosion pigments in the polyolefin matrix. The modified polyolefin nanocomposite coatings also demonstrate enhanced mechanical properties, 15 % higher hardness and 17 % higher erosion resistance compared to the reference coatings, due to a hardening effect conferred by the presence of CNPs loaded with 2-MBT. The improved properties of the modified polyolefin nanocomposite coatings make them attractive for industrial applications to protect steel parts.