A conducting polymer film acts as a self healing coating to protect metals from corrosion, say researchers in Japan.
Steel is used to construct many different structures but is susceptible to corrosion, which can limit its practical uses and lifetime. Structures such as bridges or boats are often exposed to salt solutions that rapidly corrode them. This is a large problem and costs related to corrosion in developed countries amounts to approximately four per cent of their gross national product.
Damian Kowalski and coworkers at Hokkaido University have developed a new type of coating using an intrinsically conducting polymer (ICP), polypyrrole, which could be used as an alternative to expensive and toxic chromates currently used.
Interested to know more? Read Jon Watson’s article in Highlights in Chemical Science for free here:
Original research article available here: Damian Kowalski, Mikito Ueda and Toshiaki Ohtsuka, J. Mater. Chem., 2010, 20, 7630 – 7633, DOI: 10.1039/c0jm00866d
