Corrosion Resistant Coatings Containing Novel Nanoscale Additives That Enhance Adhesion and Impart Self-healing Character

Current surface preparation methods and repair of Navy ships involve the use of abrasive blasting prior to application of primers and top coats. Apart from being expensive and time consuming, toxic waste in the form of abrasive blast media and paint chips containing heavy metals are generated. These pose potential health hazards to workers and the local aquatic organisms because of potential ecological damage. The key innovation proposed here is to synthesize functionalized nanoscale additives that when incorporated into a commercial primer will drastically enhance adhesion between the metal and primer, thereby eliminating the need for the abrasive blasting step. In addition, the proposed nanoscale additives will exhibit corrosion inhibiting and self-healing properties. The proposed effort builds upon our previous work where we began developing nanoscale additives for a new class of chromate-free damage responsive primer coatings for application on Navy ships. Functionalized nanoscale additives developed in this program will enable the Navy to safely and economically protect metal substrates from corrosion without the use of abrasive blasting and chromate pigments. The proposed work is in collaboration with a leading corrosion testing laboratory.