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An imaginative approach to polymer surface coating has produced a sustainable way to remove mercury from water – while providing a wide range of protection including the prevention of metal corrosion and solvent damage to plastic PVC pipes. 

The smart coating, made from low-cost chemicals from oil refining and other sources, also can prevent acid and water damage of concrete surfaces and be repaired in situ by a simple heating process, according to Flinders University project leader Max Mann.

“Made easily from elemental sulfur and dicyclopentadiene (DCPD is 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,” he said.

“This exciting new area of research extends fundamental chemistry to several practical applications.”

University of Liverpool researcher Dr Bowen Zhang said the method for making the coating is safer than those previously used for related coatings.

“The team developed a lower temperature process that prevented runaway reactions,” Zhang said.

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.

The coating is repairable and scratches and damage can be prepared by the simple application of heat, the Flinders-Liverpool team found.

This process is possible because of the coating’s chemical structure which allows sulfur-sulfur bonds to be broken and re-formed.

Flinders University chemistry Professor Justin Chalker said the research is a significant step forward in multi-functional coatings.

“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,” he said.

“The coating is solvent resistant and can also remove mercury from oil and water mixtures, which is of importance to remediation in the petroleum and gas industry.”

Mann conducted part of this study in the UK on an exchange at Dr Tom Hasell’s University of Liverpool lab as part of ongoing collaboration between the Chalker Lab and Hasell Lab in Liverpool.