Doped Col-Gel Silica Films as Protective Coatings Against High Temperature Corrosion

At the present time, there is no efficient corrosion resistant coating available to the military for the protection of metallic components and equipment operating at high temperatures in aggressive environments. Heavy amounts of corrosion attack have been recently identified especially on combat and tactical equipment, exposed to aggressive marine environments at those temperatures. Minimizing of corrosion costs can result in substantial savings because maintenance, repair, and replacement costs due to the corrosion of metal substrates amount to hundreds of millions of dollars each year for the military. This Phase I proposal outlines a plan to demonstrate the feasibility of doped sol-gel silica based thin films for the protection of commonly used metal substrates against corrosive attacks caused by the superimposed action of high temperatures and an aggressive marine environment. The proposed research work will result in a new high temperature corrosion resistant coating formulation ready for full-scale field testing and commercial development at the end of Phase II.