Poly(3‐octylthiophene) thermally treated as coating for corrosion protection of SS304 in sulfuric acid media

Poly(3‐octylthiophene) (P3OT) was synthesized by direct oxidation of the 3‐octylthiophene monomer using ferric chloride (FeCl₃) as an oxidant. Using the drop‐casting technique, P3OT coatings were deposited onto 304 type stainless steel electrodes. For the purpose of determining the effect of thermal annealing on the corrosion protection of stainless steel with P3OT coatings, the coated electrodes were thermally annealed for 30 h at two different temperatures, 55 and 100 °C. The corrosion behavior of P3OT coated stainless steel was investigated in 0.5 M sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) at room temperature using potentiodynamic polarization curves (PPC), linear polarization resistance (LPR), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results indicated that the thermally treated P3OT coatings improved the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel in 0.5 M H₂SO₄. The best corrosion protection was obtained by the P3OT coating annealed at 100 °C. In order to study the temperature effect on the morphology of the coatings before and after the corrosive environment and compare it with corrosion protection, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) were used.