Surface reactivity of polypyrrole/iron-oxide nanoparticles: electrochemical and CS-AFM investigations

Abstract

Composite materials based on iron-oxide nanoparticles (magnetite, hematite, and maghemite) and tetraoxalate-doped polypyrrole (PPy) were electrochemically generated from aqueous solutions. Their composition was determined using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance experiments. The oxide percentage in mass was found to vary from 17 to 27% depending on the oxide identity. They were all shown to be fascinating candidates as protective materials against corrosion of iron and carbon steel materials although maghemite-nanoparticle-loaded polypyrrole films offer the best performances. An anionic surfactant (sodium dodecylsulfate) was added to the electrodeposition solution to avoid the formation of clusters. These anions were also shown to improve the conductivity of the resulting PPy films, while the presence of oxide nanoparticles tends to decrease this same surface conductivity. On the other hand, the correlation between the morphology and the local conductivity appears to be more obvious in the absence of anionic surfactants than in their presence. This aspect is discussed although it still needs further investigation.