A Study on Phytic Acid‐Doped Polyaniline Absorbing Zinc Ions as a High‐Efficiency Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Anticorrosion Pigment to Enhance the Corrosion Resistance of Waterborne Epoxy Coatings

ABSTRACT A highly efficient organic–inorganic anticorrosion pigment was synthesized by adsorbing zinc ions onto polyaniline doped with phytic acid (PANI‐PA@Zn) by ionic bond. PANI‐PA@Zn demonstrates excellent thermal stability and dispersibility in waterborne epoxy coatings. The waterborne epoxy coating exhibited a remarkable anticorrosion performance with a low addition of PANI‐PA@Zn. Incorporation of 6 wt% of PANI‐PA@Zn, waterborne epoxy coating presented excellent anticorrosion and mechanical properties. After an 84‐day immersion, the coating resistance was still maintained at 10 11 Ω cm 2 . Furthermore, scanning Kelvin probe (SKP) analysis also confirmed its effective self‐healing capability. The superior corrosion inhibition effect of PANI‐PA@Zn came from the passivation of polyaniline and the chelating of zinc phytate groups in PANI. These findings suggested that PANI‐PA@Zn was a promising high‐performance anticorrosive pigment capable of providing waterborne epoxy coatings with exceptional long‐term corrosion protection for industrial applications.