Rita B. Figueira

Organic–inorganic hybrid sol–gel coatings for metal corrosion protection: a review of recent progress

Abstract This paper is a review of the most recent and relevant achievements (from 2001 to 2013) on the development of organic–inorganic hybrid (OIH) coatings produced by sol–gel-derived methods to improve resistance to oxidation/corrosion of different metallic substrates and their alloys. This review is focused on the research of OIH coatings based on siloxanes using the sol–gel process conducted at an academic level and aims to summarize the materials developed and identify perspectives for further research. The fundamentals of sol–gel are described, including OIH classification, the interaction with the substrate, their advantages, and limitations. The main precursors used in the synthesis of OIH sol–gel coatings for corrosion protection are also discussed, according to the metallic substrate used. Finally, a multilayer system to improve the resistance to corrosion is proposed, based on OIH coatings produced by the sol–gel process, and the future research challenges are debated.

A galvanic sensor for monitoring the corrosion condition of the concrete reinforcing steel: relationship between the galvanic and the corrosion currents.

This work reports a study carried out on the design and performance of galvanic and polarization resistance sensors to be embedded in concrete systems for permanent monitoring of the corrosion condition of reinforcing steel, aiming to establish a correlation between the galvanic currents, Igal, and the corrosion currents, Icorr, estimated from the polarization resistance, Rp. Sensors have been tested in saturated Ca(OH)2 aqueous solutions, under a variety of conditions, simulating the most important parameters that can accelerate the corrosion of concrete reinforcing steel, such as carbonation, ingress of chloride ions, presence or absence of O2. For all the conditions, the influence of temperature (20 to 55 °C) has also been considered. From this study, it could be concluded that the galvanic currents are sensitive to the various parameters following a trend similar to that of the Rp values. A relationship between the galvanic and the corrosion current densities was obtained and the limiting values of the Igal, indicative of the state condition of the reinforcing steel for the designed sensor, were established.

Long-Term Efficiency of Two Organic Corrosion Inhibitors for Reinforced Concrete

In this paper the efficiency of two organic corrosion inhibitors, a migratory and an admixture inhibitor, was evaluated by electrochemical techniques in solutions simulating the interstitial electrolyte of concrete and on concrete slabs exposed to natural environmental conditions over a five-year period. From obtained results, the usefulness of the two products is discussed aiming its application in new structures to prevent chlorides induced corrosion and as a curative method for repairing reinforced concrete structures contaminated with chlorides and affected by reinforcement corrosion.

Embedded Sensors for Corrosion Monitoring of Existing Reinforced Concrete Structures

In this work the performance of two surface treatments and the efficiency of a corrosion inhibitor were evaluated, in the control of steel corrosion in concrete induced by chlorides, through measurements of galvanic current and polarization resistance applied to embedded sensors fixed in existing concrete using different methodologies. From the results obtained the use of the different embedded sensors in the measurement of corrosion rate is discussed aiming the development of new systems for permanent evaluation of the on site performance of products for repairing reinforced concrete structures affected by reinforcement corrosion.

Hybrid Coatings Enriched with Tetraethoxysilane for Corrosion Mitigation of Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel in Chloride Contaminated Simulated Concrete Pore Solutions

Hybrid sol-gel coatings, named U(X):TEOS, based on ureasilicate matrices (U(X)) enriched with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), were synthesized. The influence of TEOS addition was studied on both the structure of the hybrid sol-gel films as well as on the electrochemical properties. The effect of TEOS on the structure of the hybrid sol-gel films was investigated by solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. The dielectric properties of the different materials were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The corrosion behavior of the hybrid coatings on HDGS was studied in chloride-contaminated simulated concrete pore solutions (SCPS) by polarization resistance measurements. The roughness of the HDGS coated with hybrids was also characterized by atomic force microscopy. The structural characterization of the hybrid materials proved the effective reaction between Jeffamine® and 3-isocyanate propyltriethoxysilane (ICPTES) and indicated that the addition of TEOS does not seem to affect the organic structure or to increase the degree of condensation of the hybrid materials. Despite the apparent lack of influence on the hybrids architecture, the polarization resistance measurements confirmed that TEOS addition improves the corrosion resistance of the hybrid coatings (U(X):TEOS) in chloride-contaminated SCPS when compared to samples prepared without any TEOS (U(X)). This behavior could be related to the decrease in roughness of the hybrid coatings (due TEOS addition) and to the different metal coating interaction resulting from the increase of the inorganic component in the hybrid matrix.