Effect of polypyrrole–montmorillonite nanocomposites powder addition on corrosion performance of epoxy coatings on Al 5000

The synthesis of hybrid polypyrrole–montmorillonite (Ppy–MMT) nanocomposites and their effects on the improvement of the protection efficiency of the epoxy coatings on aluminum corrosion were studied. In order to understand the effect of MMT and Ppy on the corrosion inhibition performance of the epoxy coatings in 3.5% NaCl solution, the epoxy (E), epoxy blend with MMT (EM) and polypyrrole (EP) coatings were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It was shown that EM and EP systems could not provide a good corrosion protection for long-time applications. The results showed that the incorporation of Ppy–MMT nanocomposites inside the epoxy notably increases the resistance of the coating in comparison to the other coatings for long-time period. These phenomena can be attributed to specific morphology of the nanocomposite. The structure and morphology of nanocomposites were studied by FT-IR and XRD techniques, as well as, scanning electron microscopy (SEM).