Corrosion‐protection aspects of electrochemically synthesized poly(o‐anisidine) coatings on mild steel: An electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study

The corrosion‐protection aspects of poly(o‐anisidine) (POA) coatings on mild steel in aqueous 3% NaCl solutions were investigated with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, a potentiodynamic polarization technique, and open circuit potential measurements. The POA coatings were electrochemically synthesized on mild steel with cyclic voltammetry from an aqueous salicylate medium. The corrosion behavior of the POA coatings was investigated through immersion tests performed in aqueous 3% NaCl solutions, and the recorded electrochemical impedance spectra were fitted with an equivalent circuit to obtain the characteristic impedance parameters. The use of a single equivalent circuit was inadequate to explain the various physical and electrochemical processes occurring at different exposure times. It was suggested that some characteristic element(s) should be incorporated into the equivalent circuit at different stages of the immersion to elucidate the various processes occurring at different exposure times. The evolution of the impedance parameters with the immersion time was studied, and the results showed that POA acted as a protective coating on the mild steel against corrosion in a 3% NaCl solution. From these data, the water uptake and delamination area were determined to further support the corrosion‐protection performance of the POA coating. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007