Co3O4 Decorated Ti/TiO2 Nanotubes for Photogenerated Cathodic Protection of 304 Stainless Steel

The Co₃O₄ decorated TiO₂ nanotube arrays(NTAs) coatings are fabricated by the combination of anodization and impregna-ting methods. It is found that the introduction of Co₃O₄ can reduce the diffraction intensity of (101) plane of the TiO₂ and accelerate the separation of photogenerated electron/hole pairs. In addition, the open circuit potential(OCP) and the corrosion potential of 304 stainless steel(304SS) with or without Co₃O₄ decorated TiO₂ NTAs were measured under visible light, which indicated the 304SS coupled with Co₃O₄ decorated TiO₂ NTAs had better anticorrosion performance than that of the 304SS or the 304SS coupled with pure TiO₂ NTAs. The enhancement of the cathodic protection performance of the Co₃O₄ decorated TiO₂ NTAs can be ascribed to the matched energy levels and strong interaction between Co₃O₄ and TiO₂ NTAs, and the improvement of light absorption.