Nanoengineered t-ZrO2 coatings for superior corrosion resistance on steel surfaces
Corrosion of steel has several catastrophic consequences in various sectors. The inorganic nanoparticle-based anticorrosive coating on steel drew important attention to its large surface-to-volume ratio. The primary aim of this study is to synthesize and characterize t-ZrO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles at an optimized annealing temperature and evaluate their structural, morphological, and optical properties. Additionally, the study investigates their effectiveness as a corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in 1 M H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>. The study explores the cheap, facile, green synthesis of t-ZrO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles (NPs) through bark extract from the gum arabic plant (Acacia nilotica) for anticorrosive coatings on carbon steel. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the tetragonal phase structure and the crystallite size, calculated using Scherrer's formula, is found to be 8.1 nm. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy reveals the presence of Zr-O bonding along with organic residues from plant extracts, confirming the formation of t-ZrO<sub>2</sub> NPs. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images confirm a rock stone-like structure, while energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy verifies the presence of Zr and O elements. The study further investigates the corrosion inhibition efficiency of t-ZrO<sub>2</sub> NPs on carbon steel in 1 M H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses reveal a smoother surface with reduced roughness in the presence of the inhibitor. Electrochemical measurements, including weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), confirm a significant reduction in corrosion rate. The inhibition efficiency reaches 95.2% at 200 ppm of 0.2 M t-ZrO<sub>2</sub> NPs, with an increased charge transfer resistance (R<sub>ct</sub>) of 14,715 Ω cm<sup>2</sup> and a reduced double-layer capacitance (C<sub>dl</sub>) of 0.631 × 10⁸ F/cm<sup>2</sup>. These findings demonstrate that t-ZrO<sub>2</sub> NPs act as an effective corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in acidic environments.
Authors
- K.S. Mohan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5405-3659)
- R. Lavanya
- Saravanan Rajendran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9876-6463)
- S. Santhoshkumar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8331-4424)
- Madhappan Santhamoorthy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7718-1319)
- Sankaran Esakki Muthu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9528-9294)
- Ankush Mehta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8704-8801)
- N. Geetha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7615-9961)
- A. Manikandan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6513-7428)
- H. Mohamed Kasim Sheit (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2060-316X)
- Prabhu Paramasivam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2397-0873)
- Karthik Kannan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9909-817X)
Institutions
- Madda Walabu University (ET)
- National Chung Cheng University (TW)
- University of Tarapacá (CL)
- Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine (IN)
- Marwadi University (IN)
- Bharathidasan University (IN)
- Ethiopian Civil Service University (ET)
- Goverment Siddha Medical College (IN)
- Swami Vivekanand College of Pharmacy (IN)
- Mattu University
- Yeungnam University (KR)
- Karpagam Academy of Higher Education (IN)
- Chitkara University (IN)
- Saveetha University (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2025-12-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-30044-y
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Corrosion Behavior and Inhibition
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.52