Investigation of the electroactivity of polymethylthiophene film for the corrosion protection of mild steel

The protection mechanism of intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) is still under discussion. Most of the discussions concentrate on the effect of the redox behavior and electroactivity of ICPs on the corrosion protection. In the present paper it is shown that polymethylthiophene (PMT) films electropolymerized on mild steel, with 2-(3-thienyl)ethylphosphonic acid used as adhesion promoter, show the desired redox activity. The interaction between the PMT film and some conventional coatings, and the influence of the pH of electrolyte, were investigated. It was shown that the electroactivity of PMT film is lost by the interaction with coatings of high nucleophilicity and is markedly decreased by immersion in an aqueous solution of pH 11.