A novel nanocomposite coating containing poly (N-vinyl carbazole) (PVK) and zirconia (ZrO2) nanoparticles was synthesized using chronoamperometry. The effect of ZrO2 nano particles into the PVK matrix and its mechanical, corrosion protection ability on 316L SS substrates were studied. The incorporation of the nanoparticles was endorsed by attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR) and EDAX analysis. The spheroidal morphology and core-shell structure were revealed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The thermal studies exhibited the stability of coating. The anticorrosion performance of PVK-ZrO2 nanocomposite coatings in 3.5 weight (wt.)% NaCl medium was performed with potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies. The corrosion rate of PVK-ZrO2 nanocomposite coated 316L SS was found to be 0.58 times lower than uncoated 316L SS and a significant decrease in corrosion potential was realized from －0.211 VSCE for uncoated 316L SS to 0.112 VSCE for PVK-ZrO2 nanocomposite coated 316L SS substrates. The results of this study clearly ascertain that the PVK-ZrO2 nanocomposite has an outstanding potential to protect 316L SS against corrosion in a 3.5 wt.% NaCl environment. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2018.5]
