Raman Singh

Monash University, Australia

Title: Graphene coatings: a disruptive approach to remarkable and durable corrosion resistance of metals and alloys

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Biography

Professor Raman Singh’s research expertise is in environment-assisted degradation and its mitigation by nanotechnology (e.g., graphene coating) and environment-assisted.  His professional distinctions and recognitions include: Editor of a book on Cracking of Welds (CRC Press), Lead Editor of a book on Non-destructive Evaluation of Corrosion (Wiley), Editor-in-Chief of an Elsevier and two MDPI journals,  leader/chairperson of a few international conferences and regular plenary/keynote lectures at international conferences, over 250 peer-reviewed international journal publications, 15 book chapters/books and over 100 reviewed conference publications, and several competitive research grants. He has supervised 50 PhD students.  

Abstract

Degradation of engineering metallic materials by aggressive/corrosive environment and its mitigation costs dearly (any developed economy loses 3-4% of GDP due to corrosion, which translates to ~$250b to annual loss USA). In spite of traditional approaches of corrosion mitigation (e.g., use of corrosion resistance alloys such as stainless steels and coatings), loss of infrastructure due to corrosion continues to be a vexing problem.  So, it is technologically as well as commercially attractive to explore disruptive approaches for durable corrosion resistance. Graphene has triggered unprecedented research excitement for its exceptional characteristics. The most relevant properties of graphene as corrosion resistance barrier are its remarkable chemical inertness, impermeability and toughness, i.e., the requirements of an ideal surface barrier coating for corrosion resistance.  However, the extent of corrosion resistance has been found to vary considerably in different studies. The author’s group has demonstrated an ultra-thin graphene coating to improve corrosion resistance of copper by two orders of magnitude in an aggressive chloride solution (i.e., similar to sea-water). In contrast, other reports suggest the graphene coating to actually enhance corrosion rate of copper, particularly during extended exposures.  Authors group has investigated the reasons for such contrast in corrosion resistance due to graphene coating as reported by different researchers.  On the basis of the findings, author’s group has succeeded in circumventing the challenges and demonstrated durable corrosion resistance as result of development of suitable graphene coating2,3. The most recent results include optimization of CVD parameters (such as tilting of metal substrate) for graphene for durable corrosion resistance. The presentation will also assess the challenges in developing corrosion resistant graphene coating on most common engineering alloys, such as mild steel, and  demonstrating circumvention of the challenges.