Corrosion behaviors of electromagnetic wave absorbing coatings with varying absorber content under combined UV and salt spray exposure

Despite extensive research on the impact of environmental weathering on the degradation of electromagnetic wave absorbing (EWA) coatings, the influence of material composition on their service stability remains underexplored. In this study, we prepared EWA coatings with epoxy resin as the matrix and flaky carbonyl iron (FCI) as the absorber, at concentrations of 50 wt%, 60 wt%, and 70 wt%. These coatings underwent a 192-h combined UV irradiation-salt spray accelerated aging test to examine the effects of varying absorber concentrations on their corrosion behavior and mechanisms. Surface morphology, chemical structure evolution, and corrosion diffusion were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Corrosion behaviors and their impact on wave absorption performance were further investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and electromagnetic simulations. Our results show that increasing FCI content accelerates the corrosion rate of the composite coating. This acceleration is attributed to the reduced protective effect of the epoxy matrix at higher FCI concentrations and the defects caused by FCI corrosion, which facilitate the penetration of corrosive media. This study elucidates the influence of varying absorber concentrations on the weather resistance of the coatings and their microscopic mechanisms, providing valuable insights for optimizing the service stability of EWA coatings.