Electrochemical corrosion inhibition of cobalt-graphene nano-composite on mild steel in acidic corrosion environment

Abstract

There is a continuous need for effective corrosion control materials and the recent advances in nanotechnology show that nanomaterials can play significant roles in corrosion control. Graphene nanoparticles are a well-known nanomaterial and have been employed in various functions including corrosion control. The electrochemical investigation was conducted to ascertain the inhibition efficiency of cobalt graphene nanocomposite. Coupon preparation involved marking out different 30 x 30 mm2 mild steel coupons that were subjected to corrosion in an acidic environment. Three different compositions of the composite used for the study includes 0.70 weight (wt)% cobalt /0.30 weight (wt)%, graphene , 0.55 weight (wt)% cobalt /0.45 weight (wt)%, graphene , 0.85 weight (wt)% cobalt /0.15 weight (wt)%, grapheme respectively. The corrosion tests were open circuit potential and linear sweep Voltammetry. Characterization was done using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), The chemical characteristics of the inhibitor were achieved using Energy dispersive X-ray,SpectroscopyEDX, Parameters used for the corrosion analysis are corrosion rate, polarization resistance, and electric potentials analysis. It was observed that the composite with 0.85 weight% cobalt and 0.15 weigth% graphene exhibited the best anti-corrosion property with the best inhibitor efficiency at a concentration of 0.4grams. The addition of graphene nanoparticles improved the mechanical properties of the composite's microstructure." The synthesized nanocomposite can be applied for corrosion control either as an inhibitor or as a coating. The nanocomposite, cobalt- graphene was therefore proven to be a good anti-corrosion material at a low concentration of graphene. This is an improvement in corrosion resistance and it is believed to serve as a good coating due to its adsorption properties.