| Abstract: | Metals across all industries demand anti-corrosion surface treatments and
drive a continual need for high-performing and low-cost coatings. Ordered
thin films comprising aligned inorganic platelets dispersed in a
polyelectrolyte polymer matrix provide a new class of transparent
conformal barrier coatings for protection in corrosive atmospheres. For
example, films assembled via layer-by-layer deposition, as thin as 90 nm,
are shown to reduce copper corrosion rates by >1000.times. in an
aggressive H.sub.2S atmosphere. These coatings can provide
high-performing anti-corrosion treatment alternatives to costlier, more
toxic, and less scalable thin films, such as graphene, hexavalent
chromium, or atomic layer deposited metal oxides. |