Tubule Nanocontainers for Corrosion Inhibitors

本项目的研究目标是开发无毒的纳米容器，装载缓蚀剂，以便将它们混合到涂料中。为了保护金属不受腐蚀(船舶、工业机械、石油平台)，人们在涂料中加入一种称为缓蚀剂的涂料化学物质。然而，这些保护性添加剂很容易被冲掉或分解(特别是在海水中)，金属表面会生锈。这个项目的想法是将缓蚀剂装载到微小的容器中，纳米尺寸的管子，并用塞子关闭管端。这些缓蚀剂负载的纳米管可以掺入涂料中。缓蚀剂将在这些纳米管中停留数月和数年，并将在涂层缺陷中释放出来，提供腐蚀愈合。金属腐蚀是一个严重的问题：仅在美国，每年就花费2800亿美元用于腐蚀损害的修复和保护，并开发了各种方法来克服这一问题。无机抑制剂的缺点之一是它们的毒性；例如，广泛使用的铬酸盐被证明会致癌，最近被禁用。本项目将要开发的纳米容器是埃洛石粘土纳米管，长度为800 nm，直径为50 nm。金银石是一种环境友好的纳米材料；它是从数千吨的天然矿藏中开采出来的，无毒。介绍环保型有机缓蚀剂纳米容器在防护涂料中的应用具有重要意义。除了科学发展，还将执行两项外展任务：该项目将雇用历史上的黑人大学格拉姆林州立大学的本科生研究人员；通过与K-12学校的接触，科学教师和学生将被教授纳米材料，包括基于加载的埃洛石粘土的防腐涂层的简单实验。

The research objective of this project is to develop non-toxic nanocontainers loaded with corrosion inhibitors so they can be admixed to paint. To protect metals from corrosion (ships, industrial machines, petroleum platforms) one admixes into coating paint chemicals called corrosion inhibitors. However, these protective additives are easily washed out or decomposed (especially in sea water) and metal surfaces become rusted. The idea of this project is to load corrosion inhibitors into tiny containers, nanometer size tubes, and to close tube ends with stoppers. These inhibitor loaded nanotubes can be admixed to paint. Corrosion inhibitors will stay inside these nanotubes for months and years, and will be released in the coating defects providing corrosion healing. Corrosion of metals is a serious problem: $280 billion is spent annually for corrosion damage repair and protection in USA alone, and a variety of methods have been developed to overcome it. One of the disadvantages of inorganic inhibitors is their toxicity; for example, widely used chromates are proven to cause cancer and are recently forbidden. Nanocontainers to be developed in this project are halloysite clay nanotubes with length 800 nm and diameter 50 nm. Halloysite is an environmentally friendly nanomaterial; it is mined from natural deposits in thousand tons and is not toxic. An introduction of environmentally friendly organic inhibitor nanocontainers for protective coatings is very important. Additionally to scientific development, the two outreach tasks will be performed: the project will employ undergraduate researchers from Grambling State University, a Historically Black university; and, through contacts with K-12 schools, science teachers and students will be taught about nanomaterials, including simple experiments with anticorrosion coating based on loaded halloysite clay.