Corrosion is one of the primary issues of concern for the industrial sector. A rough estimate shows that there is a loss of about Rs50,000 crores per annum in India alone due to corrosion. Zinc and chromium used widely today to impede corrosion suffer from cost or environmental issues. Graphene, also known as a wonder material, can help overcome these problems due to its impermeable and inert characteristics.A large scale graphene production route has been devised which can produce defect-free few-layer graphene with a yield of 18% from the starting material graphite. The method of production is environment friendly as water is used as the solvent and does not use volatile organic compounds.The produced graphene, can potentially replace or reduce use of zinc / chromium in coating systems. When applied as a thin coating of 3-5 microns, it was found to withstand continuous exposure to NaCl solution for 20 days without any significant damage. Graphene based primer coatings has been formulated and tested to yield better results than commercially available ones.
Prof. A S Khanna