Interfacial adhesion and corrosion protection properties improvement of a polyester-melamine coating by deposition of a novel green praseodymium oxide nanofilm: A comprehensive experimental and computational study

The effects of steel surface treatment by a novel nanofilm based on praseodymium oxide on the interfacial adhesion, corrosion protection properties and cathodic delamination rate of a polyester-melamine coating were studied by combined experimental and theoretical molecular dynamics (MD) and quantum mechanics (QM) techniques. Field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to characterize the surface morphology and chemical composition of nanofilm. The results obtained from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cathodic delamination and pull-off tests demonstrated the significant improvement of steel/polymer interfacial adhesion, the decrease of coating disbonding rate and the increase of corrosion protection performance by the aid of steel surface decoration by nanofilm. Furthermore, the theoretical outcomes derived from atomistic MD simulations of metal/polymer interface conducted in dry and wet environments further evidenced the strengthened coating adhesion onto surface-treated steel. It was also theoretically observed that the interfacial electrostatic interactions were the major force in coating binding to untreated/treated steel substrate. (C) 2019 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.