Corrosion Resistance Synergistic Performance of Alkyd Based Triplex Coating System Impregnated with Fe, Zn, Cr and Ti based Corrosion Inhibitors

An alkyd polymer based triplex coating system embedded with Iron Oxide, Zinc Chromate and Titanium Dioxide inhibitors was studied to ascertain its corrosion resistance synergistic performance at various anthropogenic and metropolitan sites of Karachi coastal city while accelerated salt spray test was also carried out for reference. Coating performance was ascertained by visual morphological inspection, gloss measurements, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. EDX results substantiated a general increment in oxygen/carbon ratio and revealed that chromium was conspicuously vanished in all exposed coating systems. Diminution trend in gloss value, ex-corporation of inhibitors on the coating surface plus depletion of morphological features witnessed through SEM micrographs and curtailment of ester linkage signals in FTIR spectrum, concluded that an insignificant protection offered by the alkyd triplex coating due to its permeability upon weathering which led to ex-capsulation of inhibitors under moist conditions. Appraisal of these results have furnished an average coating performance correlation of 704 hpy (hours of salt spray test equivalence per year exposure test) at marine test site and 614 hpy at industrial test site in terms of blistering while equivalence mean in terms of rusting were found 815 hpy and 622 hpy at marine and industrial test sites respectively. (author)