Synthesis, characterization and performance evaluation of epoxy/pedot: Pss-cerium doped zinc oxide as anticorrosive and hygienic hybrid composite

Abstract

Many high-end industries including the marine, oil and gas, and biomedical industries are severely affected by metal corrosion and the presence of microbial activity further accelerates the corrosion process. The smart functional coating materials with synergistic anticorrosion and antifouling properties are currently developed as new steel protection strategy. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the anticorrosive and hygienic properties of a new coating formulation comprising an epoxy matrix and PEDOT:PSS-Ce doped ZnO hybrid composite (HC) as the functional agent for the protection of stainless steel (SS 316L) and mild steel substrates. The effects of HC compositions on anticorrosion and hygienic properties of epoxy coatings were investigated by varying the HC compositions at 1, 3 and 5 wt%. The HC coatings were characterised using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX) analyses. The Ce doped ZnO was synthesised through the citrate gelation method and solid state sintering and characterised using ATR-FTIR, XRD, SEM/FESEM and EDX. The photocatalytic efficiency of Ce doped ZnO was evaluated in a series of photodegradation test under UV light using methylene blue dye as the indicator.