Commercial paints and coatings can serve as a protective barrier for metallic substrates in a corrosive environment. A considerable variety of nanostructures can be embedded in a polymeric coating to achieve both barrier and active protection. This research aims to elucidate the role of polyaniline (PANI) as an active polyelectrolyte modifier for the surface modification of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) doped with zinc cations (Zn²⁺). To characterize the samples, we employed different techniques, including field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N₂ adsorption-desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), rheometric mechanical spectroscopy (RMS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Characterization of PANI-MSNs proved the formation of PANI shells onto the surface of silica cores, and pH triggered the release of Zn²⁺ at the alkaline condition. Enhancement in rheological, thermal, and mechanical characteristics revealed good dispersion and chemical interaction between PANI coated nanoparticles and the epoxy matrix. Moreover, epoxy nanocomposite coatings illustrated a dual barrier/active protection after 50 days of salt immersion.

商业油漆和涂料可以在腐蚀性环境中用作金属基材的保护性屏障。可以在聚合物涂层中嵌入大量的纳米结构，以实现屏障和主动保护。这项研究的目的是阐明聚苯胺（PANI）作为活性聚电解质改性剂在掺杂锌阳离子（Zn ²⁺）的中孔二氧化硅纳米颗粒（MSNs）的表面改性中的作用。为了表征样品，我们采用了不同的技术，包括场发射扫描电子显微镜（FE-SEM），透射电子显微镜（TEM），N ₂吸附-解吸，傅立叶变换红外光谱（FTIR），拉曼光谱，X射线衍射（XRD），热重分析（TGA），电感耦合等离子体发射光谱（ICP-OES），流变机械光谱（RMS），差示扫描量热法（DSC），拉伸和电化学阻抗谱（EIS）。对PANI-MSN的表征证明了PANI壳在二氧化硅核表面上的形成，并且pH触发了碱性条件下Zn ²⁺的释放。流变，热和机械特性的增强表明，PANI涂层的纳米颗粒与环氧基质之间具有良好的分散性和化学相互作用。此外，环氧纳米复合涂料在盐浸50天后具有双重阻隔/主动保护功能。