Influence of FeSO ₄ @FeCl ₃ @APTES‐Rice Husk Nanosilica in Epoxy Coatings on Corrosion Inhibition of 6061‐T6 Aluminum Alloy in 3.5wt% NaCl Solution: Electrochemical Measurements and Characterization

ABSTRACT As the industry transitions toward a circular economy to tackle environmental pollution and manage solid waste, integrating sustainable high‐performance materials into the economy has become vital. This study evaluates the corrosion‐protection of a novel epoxy coating formulated with FeSO 4 @FeCl 3 @APTES‐modified rice husk nanosilica (MNS@APTES), with major electrochemical findings demonstrating enhanced corrosion inhibition for 6061‐T6 aluminum alloy in a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. On increasing MNS@APTES concentration in the epoxy coating from 1 to 4 wt%, reduction in the corrosion current density ( I corr ) from 10.11 ± 0.24 to 3.01 ± 0.09 μA/cm 2 ; increase in the corrosion potential ( E corr ) from −0.79 ± 0.01 to −0.59 ± 0.04 V; increase in the inhibition efficiency from 69.85% to 91.02%; increase in Nyquist plots diameters; reduction in Al 3+ concentration in NaCl solution from 2.76 to 0.47 ppm; rapid increase in open‐circuit potential; and increase in R ct , R s and R f from 1927 to 8801, 79 to 226, and 1338 to 5666 Ωcm 2 , respectively were observed. Surface characterizations revealed improvement in the corrosion resistance of aluminum alloy in MNS@APTES presence.