Synthesis and characterization of phosphorized polyaniline doped with phytic acid and its anticorrosion properties for Mg-Li alloy

A phosphorized polyaniline (PANI) doped with phytic acid (PhA) was synthesized by the chemical oxide method with PhA as a dopant and applied to improve the anticorrosion properties of magnesium-lithium (Mg-Li) alloys after blending with eco-friendly silane sol. The chemical structures and morphologies of PANI samples were evaluated by FTIR spectroscopy, UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). All characterizations indicate that the as-synthesized phosphorized PANI (PANI-PhA) exists in doped emeraldine salt state with net-like structures crosslinked by phosphate carboxyl groups. The conductivity and thermostability of PANI-PhA were better than those of PANI doped with phosphoric acid (PANI-H₃PO₄) and undoped PANI. The anticorrosion properties of PANI/silane sol composite coatings for Mg-Li alloy were tested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements. The results prove that the anticorrosion ability of PANI-PhA is the best among the three PANI samples, as shown by a low corrosion current (1.28 × 10^?7 A·cm^?2) and high impedance (5.62 × 10⁶ Ω·cm²). The possible anticorrosion mechanism was proposed based on procedure analysis.