Enhancing corrosion resistance of 316L stainless steel through electrochemical deposition of polyaniline coatings in acidic environments

Abstract Stainless steel is widely used because of its excellent corrosion resistance in typical environments. However, it is susceptible to corrosion in acidic media, therefore, to address this issue, the electrochemical deposition of polyaniline coatings on 316L stainless steel was investigated using cyclic voltammetry at different potential windows and scan rates. The successful polymerization and surface morphology were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Moreover, thermal stability of the PANI coating was assessed through thermo gravimetric analysis while the corrosion behavior of bare and coated steels immersed in 1M H 2 SO 4 was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Based on the Nyquist plots obtained from the EIS revealed that the corrosion resistance of the PANI coating improved significantly with a decrease in scan rate and by limiting the upper potential, especially during longer exposure times up to 72 h. Results suggest that controlling the deposition parameters and optimizing the electrochemical conditions can lead to even greater improvements in the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel. These findings offer valuable insights for researchers and engineers in the field of materials science and corrosion protection, enabling them to develop more precise and efficient strategies for enhancing the durability and performance of stainless steel in acidic environments.