Preface

**Section 3 Fire Action on Materials 99**

**VI** Contents

Chapter 6 **Fire Retardant Coatings 101** Thirumal Mariappan

> The title of this book has been chosen to reflect the combination of basic knowledge and applied science on paints and coatings. The dizzying advance of the science of materials prompted editors to try to produce a book that occupies that space with a scientific and technological approach.

> The book is also intended to raise awareness of many underlying knowledge aspects for the successful use of new materials for the formulation and manufacture of paints and coatings that simultaneously exhibit efficiency, are economical, and meet requirements that seek to reduce pollution.

> Researchers specializing in painting technology and materials science in general, the aca‐ demic community that participates in postgraduate teaching tasks, and particularly the pro‐ fessionals who make up the productive sector surely have different expectations in reading this book. Editors want at least some of the above objectives to be achieved; thus, this book will have reached its purpose.

> The introductory chapter, "Protection of Materials," describes aspects related to metallic cor‐ rosion and failures as well as the action of fire on several materials.

> The section "Metallic Corrosion and Failures" includes four chapters; they describe innova‐ tive methods of surface treatment to control the kinetics of metallic corrosion.

> The first chapter reports on the novel results obtained for high-performance silicapoly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and silica-epoxy coatings, containing active corrosion inhibitors, such as cerium salts; also, it compares their properties with results reported for a variety of hybrid coatings prepared by different approaches and formulations.

> Other chapters, since electrodeposition is a low-cost and low-temperature method both for producing metal matrix composite coatings and for attending the combined mechanisms of corrosion and erosion, describe monolayer and multilayer alloy systems deposited by apply‐ ing this process (composite coatings through the codeposition of nanoparticles).

> The following chapter reports a proposal for reducing the predominant asset of the invest‐ ment cost for proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer by using protective and easily upscalable coating technologies. Vacuum plasma spraying, a versatile technology for apply‐ ing various types of coatings to a wide range of surfaces, is described to produce highly sta‐ ble and multifunctional coatings for cost-effective interconnectors of PEM electrolyzers.

> The next chapter refers to the production of thin films (nanocoatings); it is a technological field with many applications to elaborate materials with new properties to be used as corro‐

sion protection of traditional metals. Two hydrophobic corrosion coatings for possible use over aluminum heat exchanger geothermal power plants are described.

The section "Fire Action on Materials" includes a chapter in which fire retardant coatings are studied; this issue is very important since fire causes human and economic loss. Fire re‐ tardant coatings are often required to protect a wide range of both flammable and nonflam‐ mable products against fire. The degree of fire retardancy mainly depends on the efficiency of formulations as well as on coating thickness, the type of substrates, etc. The wood behav‐ ior protected by using fire-retardant coatings is explained.

Finally, the editors want to point out that they hope that this book will become a reference work that offers a satisfactory answer to the questions related to painting technology for researchers, postgraduate teachers, and specialists in the production sector.

> **Carlos A. Giudice** National Technological University, La Plata Regional Faculty Argentina

#### **Guadalupe Canosa**

Research and Development Center in Coatings Technology National Technological University, La Plata Regional Faculty Argentina

**Section 1**
