Emerging Technologies

This is one of my favorite issues of PCI – our Emerging Technologies issue. While many of our articles and news stories throughout the year feature promising new technologies, this issue really focuses on the topic.

Information on new research comes in to us daily. One recent item that I found particularly interesting was an article by Darren Quick at www.gizmag.com. The article, titled Graphene Coating Makes Copper Almost 100 Times More Corrosion-Resistant, features research from Monash and Rice Universities. Using chemical vapor deposition, scientists applied a graphene coating to copper and tested it in saline water. The results showed resistance to corrosion almost 100 times that of untreated copper. The researchers are now performing tests to see if they can obtain similar results with other metals. You can read the full article at www.gizmag.com/graphene-metal-corrosion/24434/.

This issue of PCI covers emerging technologies in a number of ways. New this year is our Emerging Technologies News department. Associate Editor, Karen Parker, has compiled an impressive array of news articles on coatings research being done at both the university and industry level, including an immobilized liquid film that tricks bacteria into thinking they have nowhere to attach and grow, and a lithium-ion battery that can be painted on virtually any surface. More detailed information on each news item is available at www.pcimag.com.

Also featured this month are Emerging Technology Profiles from a variety of companies. Be sure to page through this advertorial section to see what these companies are up to. We also have several feature articles that discuss truly innovative coatings technologies. Cristal has developed the next level of innovative ultrafine TiO₂ applications to control atmospheric pollution. Charles Ross discusses a new approach one customer used to achieve better safety, reduce waste and improve milling performance. Bio-based raw materials are certainly a hot topic, and our articles from Eastern Michigan University (EMU) and CelluComp are directed at this area of research. Vijay Mannari, one of the authors of the EMU paper, has been selected for this year’s prestigious “Michigan Green Chemistry Governor’s Award” for his work on bio-based materials. The award was given to him at the Michigan Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference in Detroit on October 26^th.

The possibilities really do seem endless when you learn about all of this new research and the potential benefits it can bring.