Coating Solutions For Corrosion Inhibition and CW Agent Decon

Many Chemical Warfare (CW) agents can cause undetectable corrosion problems that accumulate over time to significant maintenance and repair problems, or catastrophic failures. In addition to the CW threat, the decontaminating agents that are used for detoxifying the surface-borne toxic CW-agents can cause severe corrosion of the material surfaces. Protection of military hardware (Army, Navy and Air Force) in a CW environment is a critical concern to DoD. Clearly, a simple, facility or field applied, decon solution that does not damage parts or materials, is safe for personnel, and results in non-toxic waste products is needed for rapidly decontaminating military parts. This decon solution also must be quick-acting (decon in minutes) and effective against both biological and chemical agents. Any alternative must also have a long shelf life to be feasible. The specific objective of Phase I is to develop and demonstrate a cleaner comprised of polymers, chelating agents, and polyvalent metals that have the properties to decontaminate and detoxify, and inhibit corrosion of aluminum, steels and even degradation of composites. Nanomaterials will also be evaluated for synergies in these formulations. We will also propose tasks to scale-up the synthesis and testing processes for Phase II.