Large-scale multilayer reduced graphene oxide coatings on metals - market study

现代材料工程中的一个主要挑战是制造成本效益高的防腐涂层。还原氧化石墨烯(RGO)是这一领域的一个很好的候选材料，因为它可以用于水润滑涂料，为油轮和管道中的油润滑提供一种环保的替代品。主要的工作集中在开发通过热、化学或电处理来生产rGO薄膜的方法。然而，将氧化石墨烯(GO)还原为RGO的最常见协议依赖于使用有毒溶剂，这会导致严重的安全和环境问题。RGO直接生长在不锈钢上用于植入物的应用还没有被评估。我们最近开发了一种使用冠烯的溶液相分子前体在不锈钢(SS316L)表面生长多层rGO薄膜的简单工艺。冠烯基本上是石墨烯的一小片，可以通过随后的退火进行二聚化。我们的工艺包括在SS316L上滴铸冠烯溶液，然后在空气中进行热退火，然后冷却。Th rGO涂层提高了SS316L在各种应用中的机械性能。我们还改进了一些因素，如良好的薄膜均匀性和厚度控制、最大限度地减少溶液消耗、大面积沉积能力和成本效益。我们的方法阐明了rGO薄膜中的结构/功能关系，针对导致rGO薄膜耐久性、可靠性、存活率和可维护性的耐蚀性能。我们的方法具有广泛的适用性，这使得它很有前景，值得进行市场评估。这种防腐涂层预计将对加拿大工业产生重大影响，包括制造、汽车和潜艇技术。

A major challenge in modern materials engineering is to make cost effective anticorrosive coatings. Reducedgraphene oxide (rGO) is a great candidate in this arena as it can be used in water lubricated coatings, offeringan environmentally safe replacement to oil lubrications in oil tankers and pipelines. Significant efforts focusedon developing methods to produce rGO thin-films through thermal, chemical or electrical treatments. However,the most common protocols for reducing graphene oxide (GO) to rGO rely on using toxic solvents, causingserious safety and environmental concerns. The growth of rGO directly on stainless steel for implantapplications has not been assessed. We recently developed a simple process for growing multilayer rGO filmson stainless steel (SS316L) surfaces using solution-phase molecular precursors of coronene. Coronene isbasically a small flake of graphene which can undergo dimerization by subsequent annealing. Our processconsists of drop casting a solution of coronene on SS316L, followed by thermal annealing under air andsubsequent cooling. Th rGO coating enhances the mechanical properties of SS316L for various applications.We also improved a number of factors such as good film uniformity and thickness control, minimization ofsolution consumption, large area deposition capability, and cost effectiveness. Our approach elucidates thestructure/function relationship in the rGO films, targeting corrosion-resistance properties that lead to durability,reliability, survivability and maintainability of rGO thin-films. The diverse applicability of our method makes itpromising and warrants market assessment. Such anticorrosive coatings are expected to have a significantimpact on the Canadian industry including manufacturing, automotive and submarine technologies.