α-Zirconium hydrogenophosphate as a nano-container of 2-aminobenzimidazole for the corrosion protection of zinc in NaCl medium

O, denoted as α-ZrP) was intercalated with the corrosion inhibitor 2-aminobenzimidazole (ABIM). Various microstructural analyses have proven the insertion of ABIM in the interlayer space by an acid-base exchange reaction and allowed us to propose a structural model for the new ABIM-ZrP pigment. The anticorrosion properties on zinc of the ABIM-ZrP, characterized by electrochemical measurements in 0.1 M NaCl, are due to the release of ABIM molecules by an ion-exchange reaction and the pH-buffer effect of α-ZrP and the amine group of ABIM. Compared to the commercial aluminium tri-phosphate (ATP) pigment, an alkyd-polymer coating loaded with the ABIM-ZrP pigment shows very interesting electrochemical behaviour by avoiding the blistering of the polymer coating and the beginning of zinc corrosion. This effect may be due to both the tortuous effect brought by the platelet shape of the pigments and the release of ABIM once the water uptake of the polymer becomes significant.