Graphene coatings for protection against microbiologically induced corrosion

Microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) is a special form of electrochemical corrosion where micro-organisms affect the local environmental conditions at the metal-electrolyte interface by forming a stable biofilm. The biofilm introduces localized concentration cells, which accelerate the electrochemical corrosion rates. MIC has been found to affect many industrial systems such as sewage waste water pipes, heat exchangers, ships, underwater pipes etc. It has been traditionally eradicated by physical, biochemical and surface protection methods. The cleaning methods and the biocidal deliveries are required periodically and don't provide a permanent solution to the problem. Further, the use of biocides has been harshly criticized by environmentalists due to safety concerns associated with their usage. Surface based coatings have their own drawback of rapid degradation under harsh microbial environments. This has led to the exploration of thin, robust, inert, conformal passivation coatings for the protection of metallic surfaces from microbiologically induced corrosion.;Graphene is a 2D arrangement of carbon atoms in a hexagonal honeycomb lattice. The carbon atoms are bonded to one another by sp2 hybridization and each layer of the carbon ring arrangement spans to a thickness of less than a nm. Due to its unique 2D arrangement of carbon atoms, graphene exhibits interesting in-plane and out of plane properties that have led to it being considered as the material for the future. Its excellent thermal, mechanical, electrical and optical properties are being explored in great depth to understand and realize potential applications in various technological realms. Early studies have shown the ability of bulk and monolayer graphene to protect metallic surfaces from air oxidation and solution based galvanic corrosion processes for short periods. However, the role of graphene in resisting MIC is yet to be determined, particularly over the long time spans characteristic of this form of corrosion.;Chapter 1 introduces the basics of microbiologically induced corrosion and graphene. A comprehensive review of literature is used to discuss the role of micro-organisms, their impact on corrosion and their eradication. The conflicting results behind the use of graphene as a coating material are evaluated using the available literature and its future as an effective MIC resistant coating is then discussed.;Chapter 2 is a study of the effectiveness of graphene based coatings for passivating metal surfaces against microbial induced corrosion. The effectiveness of graphene is evaluated against a bare metal electrode and a regular carbon based electrode using Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), Spectrophotometry and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Results indicate 3-orders-of-magnitude lower corrosion currents in the graphene coated electrode and about two orders of magnitude higher impedance to interfacial electrochemical reactions.;After establishing the superiority of graphene over bare metal electrode, further studies were conducted to compare its performance over other state of the art polymer coatings such as parylene and polyurethane. This study is discussed in detail in Chapter 3. Quantitatively, graphene outperforms the polymer coated electrodes by offering close to two orders of magnitude higher MIC resistance, while qualitatively, optical images indicate severe oxidation in both the polymer coated metal structures. The chapter is concluded with discussions on the unparalleled corrosion resistance provided by graphene based coatings.;The success/failure of coating techniques is not purely dictated by their ability to protect the surface, but also by the ease of coating application onto any given surface. Chapter 4 explains the methods by which high quality graphene can be used to protect surfaces that are not conducive to graphene growth and the problems associated with the current transfer techniques. A Raman Spectroscopy based surface mapping is performed to understand the defect peak intensities across the surface and the reasons for coating failure when using the state-of-the-art transfer techniques is discussed.