The presence of carbon nanotubes in zinc-rich epoxy primer with 60 wt% zinc content influence the predominant barrier protection mechanism.
The carbon nanotube and zinc-rich epoxy primer with 70 wt% zinc content were able to provide a good balance between mass transfer (barrier) and charge transfer (cathodic protection) mechanisms.
For carbon nanotube and zinc-rich epoxy primers with 80 wt% and 90 wt% zinc content the dominant mechanism is cathodic protection.
A porous protective layer of zinc corrosion products was formed at the coating surface with the highest Zn concentrations (80 wt% and 90 wt%).