Polypyrrole (PPy) has been shown to inhibit corrosion on a variety of metal substrates. The ability of polypyrrole to inhibit corrosion without the use of heavy metals makes it an environmentally friendly alternative to many of the currently used inhibitor systems such as hexavalent chromates. There are many issues with the application of polypyrrole due to its physical and chemical properties. One of the largest problems associated with the application of polypyrrole is its insolubility in common solvents which makes casting a film exceedingly difficult. However when PPy is deposited onto a pigment particle and incorporated into an epoxy primer it mitigates these application issues. An example of the carrier particles used is given below. By incorporating a high pigment volume concentration (PVC) of this pigment into a primer binder system, conductive pathways can be formed similar to a zinc rich primer resulting in an electrical connection to the substrate. By using a flake as the pigment particle to be coated, some barrier properties may also be imparted to the resulting primer.
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