Protective properties of epoxy coating mechanochemically modified with montmorillonite on the D16T aluminium alloy in an acid rain environment

Keywords

anticorrosive pigment, natural montmorillonite mineral, epoxy coating, corrosion inhibition, aluminium alloy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

Cite as

Danyliak M.-O. M. Protective properties of epoxy coating mechanochemically modified with montmorillonite on the D16T aluminium alloy in an acid rain environment. Physicochemical Mechanics of Materials. 2026. 62(3), 31-38.

Abstract

An eco-friendly anti-corrosion pigment for protective coatings was obtained by mechanochemical modification of natural montmorillonite with zinc monophosphate. The intercalation of zinc cations (~5 wt%) and phosphate anions (~4 wt%) in montmorillonite structure was confirmed by EDX analysis. It was established that the modification contributes to partial amorphization of the structure and an increase in the interplanar distance from 1.54 to 1.58 nm. According to the results of potentiodynamic studies, it was established that the inhibitory efficiency of the obtained pigment on the aluminium alloy in an acid rain environment exceeded 95%. It was shown by the electrochemical impedance spect­roscopy method that the introduction of 20 wt% of the obtained modified montmorillonite into the epoxy coating on the alloy increased its protective properties by more than 2 orders of magnitude. The protective effect occurred due to the gradual release of active ions and the formation of layers of zinc hydroxide and aluminium phosphate on the alloy surface. The use of the mechanochemical modification allows the inhibitors to be encapsulated in the montmorillonite structure, which guarantees their long-term protective effect in polymer coatings on aluminium alloys due to the gradual release effect.