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Chinese Journal of Materials Research  2026, Vol. 40 Issue (9): 685-696    DOI: 10.11901/1005.3093.2026.144
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Fabrication and Anticorrosion Performance of the Composite Coating Based on PANI and ZIFs Fillers
XU Chun, LIAO Zhongyi, ZHANG Han, XU Meng, YUAN Yan, JIANG Li()
School of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
Cite this article: 

XU Chun, LIAO Zhongyi, ZHANG Han, XU Meng, YUAN Yan, JIANG Li. Fabrication and Anticorrosion Performance of the Composite Coating Based on PANI and ZIFs Fillers. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2026, 40(9): 685-696.

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Abstract  

To enhance the corrosion resistance of stainless steel, this study developed a composite nanofiller, ZIF-8/GO/Phen, composed of a zeolite imidazolate framework (ZIF-8), graphene oxide (GO), and the corrosion inhibitor 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen). This filler was incorporated into an epoxy acrylate resin (EA) matrix to fabricate a ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA anti-corrosion coating. Furthermore, polyaniline (PANI) was subsequently electrodeposited to construct a dual-layer coating system (PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA) with synergistic protective functions, including physical barrier, anodic protection, and inhibitor release capabilities. The composition, structure, and morphology of the synthesized materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The acidic corrosive environment was simulated using 0.1 mol/L hydrochloric acid solution, and the anticorrosion performance and service stability of the coating were systematically assessed using electrochemical techniques. The results indicated that the incorporation of ZIF-8/GO/Phen markedly improved the compactness of the coating, imparted active protection functionality, and strengthened its barrier effect against corrosive media. At a filler content of 1.5%, the ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA inner-layer coating exhibited optimal corrosion resistance. After the introduction of the PANI outer layer, the self-corrosion current density of the composite coating further decreased, accompanied by a significant increase in impedance modulus. This resulting PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA composite coating demonstrated good self-healing capability, effectively inhibiting the corrosion process of stainless steel in acidic environments.

Key words:  surface and interface in the materials      ZIF-8      graphene oxide      Inhibitor      PANI      active protection     
Received:  18 March 2026     
ZTFLH:  TG174.4  
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(22202142)
Corresponding Authors:  JIANG Li, Tel: 15150517328, E-mail: jl@mail.usts.edu.cn

URL: 

https://www.cjmr.org/EN/10.11901/1005.3093.2026.144     OR     https://www.cjmr.org/EN/Y2026/V40/I9/685

Fig.1  Infrared spectra of ZIF-8 system nanoparticles and Phen
Fig.2  XPS spectra of ZIF-8/GO/Phen nanoparticles
Fig.3  SEM images of ZIF-8/GO (a, b) and ZIF-8/GO/Phen (c, d)
Fig.4  SEM images of PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA (a, b) and ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA (c, d) coatings
Fig.5  Nyquist plots of ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA composite coatings with different ratios
Fig.6  Nyquist plots of 1.5%ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA composite coating during long-term service
Fig.7  Equivalent circuit diagrams for the ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA (a) and PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA (b) coating systems
Time / hRs / Ω·cm2CPEc / Ω-1·cm-2·s-nRc / Ω·cm2CPEdl / Ω-1·cm-2·s-nRct / Ω·cm2Zd-R / Ω·cm2
026.491.17 × 10-623104.42 × 10-59843-
2451.767.41 × 10-6388.79.34 × 10-5155122.50 × 105
72376.71.73 × 10-6384.58.20 × 10-5173841.63 × 105
12041.367.10 × 10-6778.81.22 × 10-446433-
24035.085.13 × 10-611247.78 × 10-5170031.48 × 105
48033.024.23 × 10-618627.22 × 10-5174261.47 × 105
72038.954.76 × 10-619603.63 × 10-586211.41 × 105
Table1  The fitted EIS parameters of 1.5%ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA coating during long-term service
Fig.8  Nyquist plots of 1.5%PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA composite coating during long-term service

Time

/ h

Rs

/ Ω·cm2

CPEc

/ Ω-1·cm-2·s-n

Rc

/ Ω·cm2

Zd-R

/ Ω·cm2

026.121.38 × 10-5241.84976
4840.71.71 × 10-4555.65709
9640.271.52 × 10-4662.56107
36040.348.53 × 10-5732.65695
48042.56.75 × 10-510424875
60039.035.93 × 10-516114552
72037.865.22 × 10-523214115
Table2  Fitted EIS parameters of 1.5%PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA composite coating during long-term service
Fig.9  Potentiodynamic polarization curves of PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA composite coatings and four ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA coatings with different ZIF-8/GO/Phen ratios
SamplesEcorr / mVicorr / A·cm-2
0.5%ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA-5211.13 × 10-6
1.0%ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA-4081.03 × 10-6
1.5%ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA-4331.06 × 10-6
2.0%ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA-3801.09 × 10-6
1.5%PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA-2011.64 × 10-6
Table3  The fitted potentiodynamic parameters of ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA coatings with different ZIF-8/GO/Phen ratios and PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA composite coating
Fig.10  SEM images of PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA (a, b) and ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA (c, d) coatings after long-term service
Fig.11  Nyquist plots, Bode plots and OCP curves versus time of scratched 1.5%ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA composite coatings (a1-c1) and 1.5%PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA coatings (a2-c2)
Time / hRs / Ω·cm2CPEc / Ω-1·cm-2·s-nRc / Ω·cm2CPEdl / Ω-1·cm-2·s-nRct / Ω·cm2Zd-R / Ω·cm2
045.077.4 × 10-621387--2.8 × 104
1238.821.3 × 10-598224.1 × 10-59.5 × 104-
4839.081.2 × 10-551726.3 × 10-51.9 × 105-
7240.881.6 × 10-557255.0 × 10-51.1 × 1013-
9635.661.7 × 10-555713.6 × 10-51.0 × 1021-
12035.691.9 × 10-581844.4 × 10-61.5 × 1041.0 × 104
16835.631.9 × 10-596013.7 × 10-68.5 × 10-34.9 × 104
Table 4  Fitted EIS parameters of the scratched 1.5%ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA coating during one-week service
Time / hRs / Ω·cm2CPEc / Ω-1·cm-2·s-nRc / Ω·cm2Zd-R / Ω·cm2
032.931.74 × 10-5189.62320
1241.234.76 × 10-412609745
4844.761.41 × 10-46574616
7240.671.22 × 10-48935836
9642.411.14 × 10-410656210
12041.51.08 × 10-411076842
16840.5941.17 × 10-413225405
Table 5  Fitted EIS parameters of the scratched PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA composite coating during one-week service
Fig.12  Schematic diagram of the anticorrosion mechanism of PANI/ZIF-8/GO/Phen-EA composite coating
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