Nanoscale Coatings: Opportunities for Ultra-Low Weight Surface Protection

Interfacial chemistry is central to engineering strategies controlling materials degradation (oxidation, corrosion, and friction) or surface activity (hydrophobicity, adhesion, fouling, recognition, and charge transfer). As such, coatings have emerged as a tool for controlling surface chemistry and investigating interfacial behavior. The simplicity and inert behavior of macroscale organic coatings (paints) has driven their incorporation into nearly every form of materials protection. While coatings only a few nanometers thick are required to control most surface properties, defects typically limit the lower bound of polymer coating thickness for the majority of applications.

We are developing new chemistries for defect-free coatings only 100 nm thick, representing a drastic reduction in vehicle weight and materials consumption. Our coatings are based on the chemistry of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, olefin metathesis. Our group has developed new techniques to load the polymerization catalyst onto metal surfaces, and the coatings are formed when the reactive monomers reach the catalyst-loaded surface. Additionally, this chemistry proceeds with ultra-low catalyst loading and cures at room temperature. This unique approach enables uniform coatings on highly complex geometries, including metals with nanoscale porosity. We will discuss the current capabilities and limitations of these coatings in relationship to conventional surface protection modes, and discuss our next steps in bridging the current technology gap.

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