Zeolites as reservoirs for Ce(III) as passivating ions in anticorrosion paints

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the performance of two different modified zeolitic minerals as anticorrosion pigments in order to reduce or eliminate zinc phosphate in paints. In the first stage, the selected minerals were characterized and modified with cerium ions to obtain the anticorrosion pigments. Their inhibitive properties were evaluated by means of electrochemical techniques (corrosion potential measurements and polarization curves) employing a steel electrode immersed in the pigments suspensions. In the second stage, solvent-borne paints, with 30% by volume of the anticorrosion pigment, with respect of the total pigment content, were formulated. The performance of the resulting paints was assessed by accelerated (salt spray and humidity chambers) and electrochemical tests (corrosion potential measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and compared with that of a control paint with 30% by volume of zinc phosphate. Results obtained in this research suggested that zeolites can be used as carriers for passivating ions in the manufacture of anticorrosion paints with at least reduced zinc phosphate content.