At Brock University (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada), research has led to the creation of a patented “green” coating system that protects metals against corrosion. The technology, which uses silicon rather than heavy metals to bind coatings to both metal surfaces and paint, was developed by organic chemistry instructor Paul Zelisko, along with Vanchem Performance Chemicals (Burlington, Ontario, Canada).
The water-based coating system, which essentially contains reactive sand, is able to adhere to metal and guard it against salt-induced damage and corrosion and also enable adhesion of a coating applied over it. The system involves a two-step process. The first step is to spray-apply a protective base layer comprised of water mixed with silica, which creates a chemical bond with the metal. This layer cleans the metal and also acts as a primer for the next step, which is the application of a second layer that contains polysilicates. This second layer is designed to bond with the overcoating.
When metal sheets treated with the coating were tested in a salt-spray chamber, the coatings held up anywhere from 1,800 to 3,000 h, in some cases almost three times as long as what the industry requires, says Zelisko.
The Ontario Centres of Excellence supported the research partnership through its OCE Collaborative Research Program.
Source: Brock University, brocku.ca.