Dataset for the selection of electrolytes for Electropolymerization of aniline

The most investigated conducting polymer (CP) is polyaniline (PANI)), a promising polymer due to its excellent environmental stability, simplicity of synthesis, and high electrical conductivity [1–4]. In corrosion protection applications, the PANI film has shown promising potential in protecting active metals such as iron by acting as physical barrier coatings, as a primer layer and as component in a multi-layer coating system [5]. The PANI has an excellent potential to replace the toxic metal, such as chromates, in corrosion protection and is considered a green anti-corrosion candidate [5–7]. The electrochemical synthesis of PANI coatings on active metals is accomplished by the dissolution of the metal at a potential lower than the monomer oxidation potential [8,9]. Therefore, electrochemical synthesis of PANI coatings on active metal requires a proper choice of the electrolyte and solvent that should strongly passivate the metal without hindering the electropolymerization process [10,11]. The data reported here are obtained while the anodic polarization of mild steel (MS) is carried out in succinic acid, sulphanilic acid, sodium orthophosphate, sodium potassium tartrate (Na-K tartrate), and benzoic acid in 3:1 alcohol-water (BAW) solutions [11]. However, the results of electrolytes sodium-potassium tartrate (Na-K tartrate) and benzoic acid in alcohol-water (BAW) are reported for the polymerization of aniline onto MS [11]. The SEM image of MS sample polarized in 0.3 M oxalic acid solution and 0.1 M aniline in 0.3 M oxalic acid is reported as a dataset or a supplementary material of the main manuscript ‘The Effect of Electrolytes on the Coating of Polyaniline on Mild Steel by Electrochemical Methods and Its Corrosion Behaviour [11].’