LAUSR

This article discusses morphology, texture and corrosion behavior of electrodeposited Cu–graphene composite coatings on mild steel. This study demonstrates that a metal–graphene composite coating, in which graphene is incorporated into a suitable metal matrix, is an effective way to harness the anti-corrosive potential of graphene in producing anti-corrosive coatings for corrosion-prone materials such as steel. Enhanced corrosion resistance of such metal–graphene coatings can facilitate reductions in the requisite coating thickness and material costs in a given coating application. Cu–graphene composite coatings were electrodeposited from sulfate-based acidic electrolytic baths consisting of uniform dispersions of electrochemically exfoliated graphene. Incorporation of graphene into a Cu matrix promoted finer coating morphology, reduction in crystallite size and a strong <220> texture, which subsequently made these composite coatings about 43% more corrosion resistant in 3.5% NaCl when compared to pure Cu coatings. Enhanced corrosion resistance of the composite coatings was indicated by the corrosion potential which increased with the amount of incorporated graphene.