Preparation and performance studies of modified graphene oxide/polyaniline composite anticorrosive coatings

The increase in dispersion and hydrophobicity plays a crucial role in improving the anticorrosion performance of coatings. Leveraging the high specific surface area and facile modification properties of graphene oxide, we modified GO and prepared a modified graphene oxide/polyaniline composite material using a one-pot method with a composite modifier comprising 3-aminobenzenesulfonic acid and polyaniline. NSGO/PANI composites were subsequently employed to prepare anticorrosive coatings. Our findings demonstrate that the contact angle of GO increased from 44° to 64°, indicating a significant increase in hydrophobicity. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed notable improvement in the dispersion of GO. Compared with bisphenol-a epoxy acrylate coating, polyaniline coating, and graphene oxide coating, UV (ultraviolet–visible) light-cured modified graphene oxide/polyaniline anticorrosive coatings performance with excellent construction characteristics (12 h surface drying, 30 h actual drying) and electrochemical properties, it showed that the highest corrosion potential value (−558 mV) and the minimum corrosion current density value (0.381 μA/cm²), and the presence of two capacitive arcs indicates that the coating has a self-healing function. Secondly, it also showed significantly better corrosion protection than other coatings in the 300 h salt spray test. This study provides an effective way to address marine anticorrosion challenges.