Superiority of Graphene over Polymer Coatings for Prevention of Microbially Induced Corrosion

Sci Rep. 2015 Sep 9:5:13858. doi: 10.1038/srep13858.

Abstract

Prevention of microbially induced corrosion (MIC) is of great significance in many environmental applications. Here, we report the use of an ultra-thin, graphene skin (Gr) as a superior anti-MIC coating over two commercial polymeric coatings, Parylene-C (PA) and Polyurethane (PU). We find that Nickel (Ni) dissolution in a corrosion cell with Gr-coated Ni is an order of magnitude lower than that of PA and PU coated electrodes. Electrochemical analysis reveals that the Gr coating offers ~10 and ~100 fold improvement in MIC resistance over PU and PA coatings respectively. This finding is remarkable considering that the Gr coating (1-2 nm) is ~25 and ~4000 times thinner than the PA (40-50 nm), and PU coatings (20-80 μm), respectively. Conventional polymer coatings are either non-conformal when deposited or degrade under the action of microbial processes, while the electro-chemically inert graphene coating is both resistant to microbial attack and is extremely conformal and defect-free. Finally, we provide a brief discussion regarding the effectiveness of as-grown vs. transferred graphene films for anti-MIC applications. While the as-grown graphene films are devoid of major defects, wet transfer of graphene is shown to introduce large scale defects that make it less suitable for the current application.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Corrosion*
  • Electrochemistry
  • Graphite* / chemistry
  • Polymers* / chemistry
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Polymers
  • Graphite