INTERACTIONS OF ANILINE OLIGOMERS WITH IRON OXIDE SURFACES

Abstract

Aniline oligomers have become a very interesting topic for research because of their potential application not only in organic electronics but also in smart coatings for corrosion treatment of iron and steel. A majority of the studies in the literature are focussed on the bulk or direct interaction between the organic molecules with metal substrates, without considering the native oxide film. In order to develop smart coatings (has redox activity and self-healing ability) for iron and steel, one must first understand how these oligomers interact with the native iron oxide film. In this thesis, we develop new knowledge from our fundamental understanding of the interactions of redox-active aniline oligomers with the iron oxide surface. Phenyl capped aniline dimer with two oxidation states [fully reduced (DPPD) and fully oxidized (B2Q1)] and phenyl-capped aniline tetramer (PCAT) with three oxidation states [fully reduced (B5), half-oxidized (B4Q1), fully oxidized (B3Q2)] were chosen for investigation. The former is the smallest redox active aniline oligomer but with one fewer oxidation states than polyaniline whereas the latter mimics the redox system as well as corrosion inhibition properties of polyaniline. Moreover, the phenyl-caps help both of these molecules to resist polymerization on the surface. Raman spectroscopy, mid-IR spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to study interactions. We demonstrate that charge transfer and interconversion to different oxidation states take place during interactions between each of these molecules with iron (III) oxides surfaces. During interaction with the surface, all three tetramer molecules and DPPD prefer standing on their edge orientation, whereas B2Q1 molecules tend to orient in lying down direction on the same surface. Having amino groups in the chain helps reduced and half oxidized molecules to strongly hydrogen bond with the surface and make them static on the surface. On the other hand, a lack of amino groups makes oxidized molecules mobile and loosely bound to the surface. Interactions and change of oxidation states impact the corrosion inhibition properties of PCAT. Strong ability of sticking to the surface and not fully oxidizing (B3Q2) during interactions makes B5 molecules superior corrosion inhibitors than B4Q1 and B3Q2 molecules. Transformation into B3Q2 form at the beginning of interaction allows B4Q1 to moderately inhibit corrosion but as it transforms back to its original form with time it becomes the 2nd best corrosion protector of iron oxide surface after B5. The study of all oxidation states and their surface interactions with iron oxide surface will open up pathways towards of designing smart coatings using aniline oligomers and other redox-active molecules.