14 DAY TRIAL // New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) associate professor of chemistry Sergiu M. Gorun, PhD, was recently awarded a new patent by United States authority, on the development of a new type of hydrophobic, corrosion-resistant coating. The stuff can be applied on a wide range of surfaces, in both an opaque and transparent configuration, and it could be used to protect sensitive objects from the action of the elements. Preventing water from sticking the metallic elements is extremely important in prolonging these objects' service life, experts say.
The novel composition of matter has been recognized in the patent application “Functional Coating Compositions of Perfluoroalkyl Perfluoro-Phthalocyanine Compounds,” which received the US Patent Number 7,670,684. The advanced coating, which is likely to make its way into everyday life sooner or later, is based on a new self-contained subclass of molecules, which are capable of repelling water. This property is called hydrophobicity, and it is currently investigated by many research groups around the world. Many of these teams take their inspiration from the leafs of the lotus plant, which is capable of remaining dry even though its lies on the surface of lakes and other bodies of water.
“A combination of properties has been achieved based on the presence of a metal in the molecular structure without compromising the desired robust, hydrophobic features. Consequently, these coatings are more versatile than previous materials since most metals can be incorporated,” Gorun says of his innovation. He explains that the material itself is composed of organic scaffolds with metal centers, which makes them suitable for mixture with transparent or opaque hydrophobic coatings.
One of the most considerable implications that the innovation has is using in protecting human workers from the ill health effects cased by heated petroleum-based products. When some of these materials are heated, they can produce toxic compounds that affect the long-term health of those exposed to them. Additionally, corrosion is also prevented by simply not allowing water molecules to bind to the surface the protective layers cover. This is the sole condition for corrosion to occur, such as rusting (oxidization) of iron-based structures, when exposed to the atmosphere for a long time.