In this study, 2-[(E)-(hexylimino)methyl] phenol (SA-Hex-SF) was synthesized by adding salicylaldehyde (SA) and n-hexylamine (Hex-NH₂), which was subsequently reduced by sodium borohydride to produce 2-[(hexylamino)methyl] phenol (SA-Hex-NH). Finally, the SA-Hex-NH reacted with formaldehyde to give a benzoxazine monomer (SA-Hex-BZ). Then, the monomer was thermally polymerized at 210 °C to produce the poly(SA-Hex-BZ). The chemical composition of SA-Hex-BZ was examined using FT-IR, ¹H, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD), respectively, were used to examine the thermal behavior, surface morphology, and crystallinity of the SA-Hex-BZ and its PBZ polymer. Mild steel (MS) was coated by poly(SA-Hex-BZ) which was quickly prepared using spray coating and thermal curing techniques (MS). Finally, the electrochemical tests were used to evaluate the poly(SA-Hex-BZ)-coating on MS as anti-corrosion capabilities. According to this study, the poly(SA-Hex-BZ) coating was hydrophobic, and corrosion efficiency reached 91.7%.

Herein, we synthesized two new phthalimide-functionalized benzoxazine monomers, pPP-BZ and oPP-BZ, through Mannich reactions of 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)isoindoline-1,3-dione (pPP) and 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)isoindoline-1,3-dione (oPP), respectively, with p-toluidine and paraformaldehyde. The structures of these two monomers were confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We used differential scanning calorimetry, FTIR spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis to study the polymerization behavior and thermal stability of the monomers and their corresponding polybenzoxazines. Poly(pPP-BZ) and poly(oPP-BZ) were formed on mild steel (MS) through spin-coating and subsequent thermal curing polymerization. We used various corrosion testing methods to examine the effect of the curing temperature on the corrosion resistance of the coated MS samples in 3.5 wt.% aqueous solution of NaCl. Among our tested systems, the corrosion rate reached a low of 2.78 µm·Y⁻¹ for the MS coated with poly(pPP-BZ)₁₈₀ (i.e., the coating that had been cured at 180 °C); this value is much lower than that (4.8 µm·Y⁻¹) reported for a maleimide-based benzoxazine compound (MI-Bz)/33 wt.% ACAT (amine-capped aniline trimer) blend. Thus, the incorporation of the imide functional group into the PBZ coatings is an effective strategy for affording high-performance corrosion resistance.