Corrosion inhibition of stainless steel through the formation of hydrophobic nanoporous oxide layer

This study investigates anti-corrosion properties of anodized and hydrophobically modified anodized SUS 304 stainless steel (SS 304). Utilizing electrochemical anodization and subsequent annealing, a well-ordered hexagonally closed-packed nanoporous oxide layer on the SS 304 surface, designated as AAS, was successfully developed. Then, a self-assembled monolayer of silane molecules, namely, octadecyltrimethoxysilane (ODTS) and 1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFTS), was formed on the nanoporous oxide layer of annealed-anodized SS 304. The FTIR study confirmed the formation of the self-assembly of silane molecules on nanoporous oxide surface. The self-assembled monolayers exhibited hydrophobic surface where hydrophobicity increases with increase of silane molecule concentration and gives a water contact angles measure of 127.60° and ∼ 128.83° for 0.50 wt% ODTS and 0.50 wt% PFTS, respectively. The potentiodynamic polarization study revealed a corrosion rate of 1.485 × 10⁻³ mm year⁻¹ for AAS, 0.614 × 10⁻³ mm year⁻¹ for 0.50 wt% ODTS-AAS, and 0.348 × 10⁻³ mm year⁻¹ for 0.50 wt% PFTS-AAS. This represents a significant reduction in corrosion rate compared to bare stainless steel (4.385 × 10⁻³ mm year⁻¹) when exposed to a simulated sea water environment. The AAS, 0.50 wt% ODTS-AAS and 0.50 wt% PFTS-AAS exhibited corrosion inhibition efficiency of 66.13 %, 85.97 % and 92.06 %, respectively. Electrochemical impedance analysis revealed that PFTS exhibits roughly double the effective charge transfer resistance of ODTS and 7.4 times higher than that of annealed anodized stainless steel, confirming superior corrosion inhibition capability. Overall, this research illuminates the mechanism behind self-assembled monolayer formation, resulting in the development of hydrophobic surfaces and the inhibition of corrosion on nanoporous oxide layers on stainless steel surfaces.