Assessing corrosion protection property of coatings loaded with corrosion inhibitors using real-time atmospheric corrosion monitoring (ACM) technique

The atmospheric corrosion monitoring (ACM) technique has been widely employed to track the real-time corrosion behavior of metal materials. However, limited studies have employed ACM to monitor the corrosion protection properties of organic coatings. This study focused on comparing a bare epoxy coating with one containing zinc phosphate corrosion inhibitors, both applied on ACM sensors, to observe their corrosion protection properties over time. The coatings underwent artificial damage via scratches and were then exposed to immersion as well as alternating dry and wet environments. This allowed for monitoring the galvanic corrosion currents in real-time. Throughout the corrosion tests, the zinc phosphate/epoxy coating displayed significantly lower ACM currents compared to the blank epoxy coating. The trend in ACM current variations closely matched the results obtained from regular electrochemical tests and surface analysis. This alignment highlights the potential of the ACM technique in evaluating the corrosion protection capabilities of organic coatings. Compared with the blank epoxy coating, the much decreased ACM current values observed on the zinc phosphate/epoxy coating confirmed the effective inhibition of zinc phosphate against steel corrosion beneath the damaged coating.