Dr. Amin Firouzi, Department of Process Engineering, International Maritime College, Oman

Biography: Dr. Amin Firouzi received his Ph.D. degree in Materials Engineering from University of Rome – Tor Vergata, Italy in collaboration with Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands in 2014. He has been doing research and teaching at University of Rome – Tor Vergata, 2014-2015. He joined the faculty of Department of Process Engineering at International Maritime College, Sultanate of Oman in 2015. He is the author of “An Introduction to Carbon Nanotubes” book and over 10 publications in international journals and conference proceeding. His research interests are focused on corrosion protective coatings, chemical sensors, synthesis and application of advanced materials and self-healing coating.

Speech Title: Self-healing Corrosion Protective Coatings by Electrospinning
Abstract: Polymer coating systems are classically applied on a metal surface to provide a dense barrier against the corrosive species. Coatings are susceptible to damage where detection is difficult and repair is almost impossible. Self-healing materials have the ability to repair themselves or restore their functionality after damage. In the present work, we propose an approach to barrier efficiency of polymeric coatings based on cross-linked electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) mats onto an aluminum alloy 6082. Additionally, it demonstrates the possibility to use cerium organic/inorganic compounds embedded within the fibrous mats in order to provide self-healing effect after creating an artificial defect on the coating surface. Corrosion resistance features of the samples have been studied by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurements in 3 wt% NaCl solution. The EIS results showed excellent corrosion resistance of coated sample with respect to the bare alloy. Moreover, coated sample containing cerium (III) acetylacetonate hydrate had excellent self-healing ability that was confirmed by measuring the corrosion resistance of the scratched specimen in corrosive environment and by SEM-EDX analysis of the surface of the sample after corrosion test. The cerium release has been confirmed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).
Keywords: Corrosion, Self-healing coating, Electrospinning, Aluminum alloy