Improvement of anti-corrosive properties of epoxy-coated AA 2024-T3 with TiO2 nanocontainers loaded with 8-hydroxyquinoline

► Titanium oxide nanocontainers loaded with corrosion inhibitor. ► Epoxy coatings including loaded nanocontainers applied to AA2024-T3. ► The loaded nanocontainers improve epoxy coatings corrosion protection properties. Epoxy coatings containing TiO2 nanocontainers were applied on aluminium alloy (AA) 2024-T3 for corrosion protection. The nanocontainers were loaded with the corrosion inhibitor 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ). Epoxy coatings were deposited via the dip-coating process. The morphology of the coatings was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composition of the films was determined by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed for the characterization of the corrosion resistance of these coatings. The total impedance values were measured as a function of time exposure in corrosive environment. We observed a continuous increase of the total impedance value with the time of exposure suggesting a possible self-healing effect due to the release of the inhibitors from the nanocontainers. Furthermore, addition of loaded nanocontainers into the coatings leads to the enhancement of the barrier properties of the coatings. Conclusively, we observed an improvement of the performance of the coatings due to the loaded nanocontainers.