Graphene Nanoplatelets Based Protective and Functionalizing Coating for Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is the most widely used alloy for many industrial and everyday applications, and protection of this alloy substrate against corrosion is an important industrial issue. Here we report a promising application of graphene oxide and graphene nanoplatelets as effective corrosion inhibitors for AISI type 304 stainless steel alloy. The graphene oxide and graphene coatings on the stainless steel substrates were prepared using spin coating techniques. Homogeneous and complete surface coverage by the graphene oxide and graphene nanoplatelets were observed with a high-resolution scanning electron microscope. The corrosion inhibition ability of these materials was investigated through measurement of open circuit potential and followed by potentiodymamic polarization analysis in aqueous sodium chloride solution before and after a month of immersion. Analyzed result exhibits effective corrosion inhibition for both substrates coated with graphene oxide or graphene nanoplatelets by increasing corrosion potential, pitting potential and decreasing passive current density. The corrosion inhibition ability of the coated substrates has not changed even after the long-term immersion. The result showed both graphene materials can be used as an effective corrosion inhibitor for the stainless steel substrates, which would certainly increase lifetime the substrate. However, long-term protection ability of the graphene coated susbtsrate showed somewhat better inhibition performance than the ones coated with graphene oxide.