Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc/Polypyrrole Nanotube as a Protective Pigment in Organic Coatings

This study deals with the synthesis and characterization of zinc/polypyrrole nanotube (Zn/PPy) as a protective pigment in organic coatings. The PPy nanotube is synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization, and zinc nanoparticles are deposited onto the surface of the synthesized PPy nanotube in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction results confirm the existence of the nanotube morphology and the zinc nanoparticles. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization are performed on steel plates coated with polyvinyl butyral incorporated with the Zn/PPy nanotube. The results show that the existence of zinc can improve the protective properties of the pigment. The existence of zinc leads to a cathodic protection and the main product of zinc corrosion is the stale zinc hydroxide which can block the pores in the coating. In addition, the zinc nanoparticles can increase conductivity of the PPy nanotube leading to increasing nanotube’s ability to form protective layers of metal oxides on the steel surface.