Preparation of Polyaniline-Polystyrene-ZnO Nanocomposite and Characterization of Its Anti-Corrosive Performance

In this research, firstly polyaniline-zinc oxide (PANI-ZnO) nanocomposite was successfully synthesized by chemical polymerization of aniline in the presence of ZnO nanoparticles and then, 5%, 10% and 15% solutions of PANI–ZnO nanocomposites were mixed with a solution of polystyrene (PS) in tetrahydrofurane (THF) and PANI-PS-ZnO nanocomposites were obtained. The prepared nanocomposites were used as coating on iron coupons by solution casting method and their anti corrosive performance were studied by open circuit potential (OCP) and Tafel techniques in 3.5% NaCl solution as corrosive environment. The obtained results showed that the coating of PS-[PANI-ZnO 10%] nanocomposite had superior corrosion protection effect on iron sample compared to that of pure PANI, PANI–ZnO nanocomposite, PANI-PS composite and two other PANI-PS-ZnO nanocomposite coatings. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) studies showed that the prepared PS-[PANI-ZnO 10%] nanocomposite was electroactive and this property was reversible and stable. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used to characterize the composition and structure of PS-[PANI-ZnO 10%] nanocomposite. To study thermal stability of PS- [PANI-ZnO 10%] nanocomposite, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used.