Sparc expands its advantages to water-based coatings

Sparc Technologies claims improved anti-corrosion properties from solvent-based coatings with added graphene to more environmentally friendly water-based alternatives.

Preliminary test work has shown significant improvements in the corrosion properties of graphene-enhanced waterborne acrylic epoxy coatings, the company that developed the technology told investors, amid strong market growth as an alternative to coatings containing fossil fuel-derived organic solvents.

Testing involves the addition of low doses of selected grades of graphene and comparison to unmodified controls using two industry-recognized electrochemical measurement techniques.

"These results are the first evidence Sparc has seen that graphene significantly improves the corrosion protection properties of water-based coatings."

"This will expand Sparc's reach into an emerging and fast-growing segment of the coatings market where there are clear performance challenges to solve. It also complements Sparc's flagship ecosparc product range."

Sparc Laboratories tested the coated panels using two electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques:

In Rapid Electrochemical Evaluation of Paint (REAP) testing, graphene-enhanced coatings showed that water penetrated the steel substrate more slowly through the paint film, significantly reducing stripping rates.
In the Accelerated Cycling Electrochemical Technology (ACET) test, visual inspection demonstrated that the graphene-enhanced coating had improved coating elasticity and significantly reduced blistering after six cathodic polarization (AC/DC/AC) cycles. No corrosion.

Sparc managing director Nick O'Loughlin said: "The coatings industry is increasingly demanding more environmentally friendly water-based products, but their performance is not yet high enough for large-scale industry adoption in corrosion applications."

"Our findings clearly demonstrate that graphene's properties are significantly improved, which has the potential to unlock significant growth in this developing area of the coatings market."

"It is pleasing that these results have been achieved by leveraging Sparc’s proprietary knowledge and expertise in the use of graphene-based additives in the much larger solvent-based corrosion protection market and allow us to expand customer engagement."