Novel Antifouling Bioactive Sol-gel Coatings

This proposal aims to develop an effective and industry oriented aqueous corrosion program through a project designed by collaborative efforts between the Center of Excellence in Corrosion (Core-C) at KFUPM (Saudi Arabia) and the Center of Corrosion Technology in the Materials & Engineering Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University (UK) developing their breakthrough patented technology in bioactive coating where protective bacteria is encapsulated in a thin hybrid sol-gel coating and proved to be superior to comparative coatings. The Core-C held a workshop for two days January 31 and February 1, 2010, where the main speaker was Prof. Robert Akid from the Materials and Engineering Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University. The lectures addressed the recent advances in electrochemical scanning methods and the contribution of the Institute in the area of sol-gel coatings. Their recent research approaches have been focused on barrier type coatings, paint and bioactive sol-gel for corrosion protection. This has led to the development of functionalized sol-gel coatings, including bacteria-encapsulation formulations for use against microbial induced damage. This area of research is expected to develop further towards the production of anti-microbial surfaces, biosensor applications, and infrastructure protection. Due to the environmental regulations banning metallic coatings especially Cr based, and due to the increase in the price of metals (zinc increased 240% last year), solgel technology is becoming the most promising in developing nano to microscale crack-free coatings, and hence the area of sol-gel coatings will be developed as an area of excellence.