Mar 31 2015
Leibniz Institute for New Materials (INM) will demonstrate the innovative possibilities of new protective coatings at the Hannover Fair, which will be held from 13 to 17 April, 2015. The company will exhibit at this popular research and technology trade fair at stand B46 in hall 2.
Similar to colourless coatings, the new coloured protective coatings have the same wear and corrosion protection properties and thus pave the way for novel opportunities. For example, red can be utilized as a warning colour on certain surfaces, which tend to become extremely hot.
Incorporating coloured pigments in nanocomposites make coatings possible which are not only protective but also deliver additional visual information via their colouration, said the physicist Peter William de Oliveira, head of the IZI – Innovation Center INM.
For example, a protective coating for certain automotive components or surfaces of chimneys and ovens can be coloured red. Such components would be protected from wear, corrosion, and oxidation and at the same time would be clearly visible to consumers by function of their colour.
In order to produce an entire red shade sans the use of brown content, the research team at INM is presently investigating ceramic particles having red pigments. These pigments do not contain iron oxide. Chemical compounds that were utilized in the past were not appropriate for such kind of applications.
Organic compounds do make for very nice reds – but they are unsuitable for such protective coatings, since organics do not survive high temperatures. Iron oxides do withstand high temperatures when used as colouring particles for reds, but do not give full reds, explained de Oliveira.
Black-coloured coatings measuring a thickness of 2-5µm can tolerate as high as 9000C temperature and even reddish brown-coloured coatings that have excellent resistance can withstand up to 5000C. The research team at INM is also using green and blue pigments to develop protective coatings.
The ongoing developments at this institute allow the use of these coloured glass-ceramic layers on both glass and metal surfaces. Integrated in sol-gel nanocomposites, the pigments are applied either by spraying or dipping.
INM carries out R&D activities to produce novel materials that meet today and future application need. A team of experts including physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers, and materials scientists collaborate to focus on critical questions like which material properties are unique and how they can be customized for industrial applications in the days to come.
Four studies establish the ongoing developments at INM and these include new surface materials for tribological systems, new concepts for medical surfaces, nano safety and nano bio, and new materials for energy application. Research at INM is carried out in three different fields such as bio interfaces, nanocomposite technology, and interface materials.
Located in Saarbrücken, INM is an institute of the Leibniz Association and is a leading centre for materials research. It employs approximately 210 people.