Chitosan coatings crosslinked with genipin for corrosion protection of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets

Abstract

In this study, coatings of chitosan crosslinked with genipin were prepared on sheets of AZ31 magnesium alloy and their corrosion protection properties were characterized by means of potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The coatings were also characterized by means of FTIR and XPS. It was observed that the crosslinking process decreases the corrosion current and shifts the corrosion potential of the alloy to less negative values. The EIS analysis demonstrated that the crosslinking process increases the maximum impedance after short and long exposure times. The superior performance of the crosslinked coatings is related to a lower degree of swelling, as observed in the swelling tests carried out on free-standing films.