Graphene-based anticorrosive coatings for copper

Abstract

The present study was focused on the development of environmentally friendly graphene-based anti-corrosive coatings and understanding the effect of these coatings on the electrochemical corrosion behavior of copper. Through effective functionalization of graphene (<=5 layers) with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), the corrosion current density was reduced by ∼20 times in magnitude as compared to that of the uncoated copper. This enhanced corrosion protection is attributed to the high surface area of graphene, electrochemically produced highly conductive few layer graphene, its barrier properties, reduced water uptake/oxygen/salt permeation, and homogeneous dispersion of graphene throughout the coating.