In this work we report the synthesis of polyurea microcapsules loaded with corrosion inhibitor 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) for corrosion protection of 2024 aluminum alloy. The microcapsules were prepared by interfacial polycondensation. The resulting capsules exhibit spherical shape, with diameter ranging between 100 nm and 2 µm. The loading content of MBT was found to be 5 wt% and release studies showed that MBT is preferentially released under acidic and alkaline conditions and follows the Fickian diffusion model. This pH dependency seems suitable for protection of metallic alloys where corrosion processes are accompanied by local pH changes. Furthermore, the microcapsules were added to a hybrid sol-gel coating and its performance assessed by electrochemical and accelerated standard tests. The results obtained indicate that capsules loaded with MBT do not affect negatively the barrier properties of sol-gel coatings, and contribute for the enhancement of adhesion of coatings to the metallic substrate. More relevant, these additives impart active corrosion protection suppressing corrosion activity at defect sites, which opens prospects for application of polyurea microcapsules as additives for high-performance coatings.
An electrochemical study of prestressed steel in saturated Ca(OH) 2 aqueous solutions (pH 12) was carried out in the absence and in the presence of chloride ions, in such a concentration that simulates the composition of seawater. Cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, open circuit potential transients, atomic absorption spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy coupled to electron diffraction spectroscopy were employed. The linear polarisation curves analysis led to the determination of polarisation resistance, R p , corrosion potential, E corr , corrosion current density, j corr , Tafel slopes, breakdown potential, E b and repassivation potential E repass . A linear dependence of the breakdown potential, E b , on the square root of scan rate was obtained, according to the Point Defect Model (PDM). A crossover characteristic of the nucleation processes was observed in the presence of chloride ions. SEM/EDS studies revealed, as expected, a strong influence of the presence of chloride ions observed in the transpassive and the active regions. In conclusion, chloride ions contribute to enhance the corrosion of steel, most probably due to their adsorption on both the active and the passive electrode surfaces.
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