Corrosion of iron and steel surfaces deployed in aqueous acidic environments often leads to enormous economic losses as well as safety hazards since catastrophic failures resulting from the corrosion of engineering structures are well-known. Conventional methods used for the anticorrosion protection of metals include the use of chromate-based pigments; however, their use is limited because of their toxicity. Polymer coatings have been developed for corrosion protection; the coating forms a barrier against strong corrosive gases such as, oxygen and hydrogen. Metals are easily corroded in the presence of aggressive anionic species such as chloride ions, which are detrimental to the metallic surface. The metals surface can be efficiently protected by the introduction of organic corrosion inhibitors to the coatings system together with a primer. Once the coating is damaged, the inhibitors interact with released metal ions and form a protective barrier on the surface. Organic corrosion inhibitors are efficient and not harmful to the environment. However, the direct addition of the inhibitor to the coatings is not efficient because of the interaction of inhibitor with other components of the coatings, the poor distribution of low-solubility inhibitors within paint, and inhibitors leaching from the coating. Thus, the development of a new approach to introduce environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors becomes an important issue for many industries where an adequate corrosion protection is needed.
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