A new polymer surface coating has produced a sustainable way to remove mercury from water — while preventing metal corrosion and solvent damage of plastic PVC pipes.
The smart coating, made from low-cost chemicals from oil refining and other sources, can also prevent acid and water damage of concrete surfaces and be repaired in situ by a simple heating process, says Flinders University project leader Max Mann.
“Made easily from elemental sulfur and dicyclopentadiene (DCPD; a by-product of petroleum refining), this new coating is multi-functional, which gives us wide scope to use it in a wide range of useful ways and for longer lasting industrial products and components,” says Mann.
Along with its protective powers against corrosion, solvent damage and acid and water damage, the research found the active coating can capture toxic metals such as mercury.
This process is possible because of the coating’s chemical structure, which allows sulfur-sulfur bonds to be broken and re-formed.
“The unique chemical composition of the smart coating enables protection of substrates, active removal of toxic mercury species from water and oil, and is repairable which ensures its sustainability,” says Matthew Flinders Professor Chalker, from the Institute of Nanoscale Science and Technology at Flinders University.
Mann conducted part of this study in the UK on an exchange at Tom Hasell’s University of Liverpool lab as part of ongoing collaboration between the Chalker Lab and Hasell Lab in Liverpool.
The article, Processes for coating surfaces with a copolymer made from sulfur and dicyclopentadiene, was the cover story in Polymer Chemistry.
