Coating formulated to protect national monuments, historical structures
Marie Donlon | December 16, 2022Researchers from Ohio’s Bowling Green State University have developed a coating that promises to protect national park service monuments against erosion.
The researchers developed a hybrid organo-silicon coating system using three chemistries — UV-initiated thiol-ene reaction, amine/epoxy reaction and alkoxysilane sol-gel curing — obtaining desirable qualities from each method while simultaneously reducing their not-so desirable qualities.
Source: Bowling Green State University
For instance, acrylics demand long curing times, thereby making them tough to use on outdoor surfaces while fluoropolymers like Teflon tend to be environmentally concerning and cannot be used on all surfaces. Meanwhile, some epoxies oxidize and discolor as they undergo erosion.
However, the hybrid organo-silicon coating system proved effective against the elements when applied to various surfaces of assorted materials and left outside exposed to rain, snow and extreme temperatures.
According to its developers, the coating cured quickly, proved durable, had a long lifetime and could be applied in various ways. Further, the coating could be applied to materials such as stone, steel, glass, iron, concrete, brick and wood, thereby cutting down on erosion. The researchers suggested that the coating could withstand graffiti, which easily wiped away from the treated surfaces
The researchers are eyeing the coating for national monuments, buildings, headstones in cemeteries and historical structures.
The article detailing the coating, Hybrid Tri-Cure Organo-Silicon Coatings for Monument Preservation, appears in the journal Coatings.