Innovative Surface Coating Made From Tailorable Dendrimers

We propose to develop a new class of dendrimer based coatings that meets the performance goals demanded by the harsh environmental conditions to which Army materials are exposed. Our technical approach employs urethane-based dendritic coatings in a simple process that provide potential for a single coating apporach due to the multiple functionality afforded by teh dendrimer structure. The basic coating can be tailored to provide adhesion to many common material substrates. The additional functionality in the molecule provides added chemical sites to allow application of other covalently bonded chemical groups as a topcoat if tailoring for very specific applications is essential. The resultant fully covalent coating should be resistant to both petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) as well as chemical agents and associated decontaminants. The proposed program includes synthesis and characterization of dendrimers, preparation of dendrimer-based coatings, and evaluation of prototype coatings against typical environmental influences.