Polymeric nano-materials for corrosion control of steel in concrete

Polymeric nano-materials utilization in reinforced concrete, aiming to deal with steel corrosion was developed in previous works. Promising results were obtained with PEO–b–PS nano-formations, both in terms of enhanced bulk matrix properties and improved steel corrosion resistance. Recent research has been focusing on a cheaper and commercially available polymer, Pluronic P123. Pluronic is able to self assemble into micelles and/or vesicles but their sensitivity towards the environmental medium is a drawback: for this reason, a study on Pluronic micelles stability in different solutions has been carried out. A stabilization process against dissociation of micelles was also performed. Both stabilized and non-stabilized micelles were tested in model solutions in terms of their influence on steel corrosion resistance.