DGEBA-polyaminoamide as effective anti-corrosive material for 15CDV6 steel in NaCl medium: Computational and experimental studies

The present study is focusing on evaluating theoretically and experimentally stability and type of interactions between the epoxy resin bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA)-polyaminoamide anticorrosive coating and high strength low alloy steel surface 15CDV6. The coated steel samples were subjected to a harsh environment of an electrolyte solution of 3 wt % NaCl to simulate the corrosive marine environment. The performance of the epoxy coating was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The EIS results revealed the occurrence of some deterioration in the film after subjecting it to a harsh environment for 4392 h, because the impedance of the coating dropped by about 1.4 kΩ.cm². Surface morphological study of metallic specimens before and after exposing to the simulated marine environment (3 wt % NaCl) was carried out using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and optical microscope (OM) methods. The interactions between DGEBA-polyaminoamide and the metallic surface were further carried out using computation modeling such as density functional theory (DFT)-based quantum chemical calculations, Monte Carlo (MC), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Results showed that DGEBA-polyaminoamide possesses a strong tendency to adhere and inhibits the corrosive dissolution of 15CDV6 steel surface in the stimulated marine environment.