Anticorrosive Performance of L. Leaf Extract-Based Hybrid Coating on Steel.

Ecological awareness brought adequate innovations in the corrosion prevention technology in the last decade. Plant extracts are an interesting category among them, being the rich source of phytochemicals explored as corrosion inhibitors in various electrolytic media instead of toxic synthetic materials. Herein, the most ample tropical plant L. leaf (MIL) extract was prepared, and its antioxidant ability has been utilized for corrosion prevention of commercial steel in 3.5 wt % NaCl environment. A rich source of polyphenol content provided excellent anticorrosive property. Corrosion prevention occurs by forming an insoluble organometallic complex between metal ions and functional groups in the antioxidants at the metal-electrolyte interface. A new simple strategy is adopted here to make bio-extract containing epoxy coating on steel. An MIL-precipitated amorphous silica hybrid is incorporated in epoxy coating. Electrochemical measurement demonstrated that the developed coating has a superlative corrosion inhibition efficiency of 99%. Thus, the present findings demonstrate a novel environmentally benign, efficient corrosion inhibitor for steel protection in saline media.