Evaluation of the Corrosion Inhibition Capability of Mild Steel Coated with a ZnO-Ni/PVDF Nanocomposite in a Simulated Concrete Pore Solution: An Electrochemical Investigation and Numerical Simulation

Corrosion, which damages the rebar, is one of the main issues faced by reinforced concrete. In this study, a PVDF binder was combined with Zinc oxide and Nickel to increase the corrosion resistance of mild steel. The improved coating was tested using a simulated concrete pore solution. Changes in the characterization of the coating due to corrosion were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) at the beginning and end of the process. The corrosion inhibition capacity was evaluated via open-circuit potential (OCP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and potential polarization experiments. The experimental findings demonstrate that the mild steel plate coated with a compound consisting of 0.75ZnO-0.25Ni/PVDF has exceptional corrosion resistance properties. The electrochemical tests were verified by an accelerated gravimetric test, which produced equivalent results and showed that the 0.75ZnO-0.25Ni/PVDF composites had an 87.47% corrosion inhibition capability. The electrochemical findings will serve as boundary conditions in COMSOL to model the coating and evaluate its effectiveness in a concrete rebar environment. The plots obtained from COMSOL include the electrolyte potential, electrolyte current density, and electrode potential. These results were compared for different samples, and the final result showed that the 0.75ZnO-0.25Ni/PVDF coating had the highest corrosion inhibition efficiency in a concrete rebar environment.