Lignin-vegetable oil oleogels toward fully green, sustainable, self-healing, wear resistant, anti-corrosion and anti-fouling coating

Research Project, 2023 – 2025

Corrosion, fouling and wear affect our society widely. Very often they happen at the same time and influence with each other. Current market available anti-fouling and anti-corrosion coatings contain either toxic or heavily polluted elements which cause serious environment pollution and human health issues.
At the same time the service life of these commercial coatings is greatly reduced by mechanical damages, e.g., wear, which can be effectively improved/solved by developing self-healing coatings. Lignin is widely available as a waste product of plant retrieving industries. On the other hand, it has great potential to be used as wear resistant, anti-corrosion and anti-fouling coatings. Gels are famous for their excellent self-healing performance. In this project, we will develop green wear resistant, anti-corrosion and anti-wear coatings by converting lignin and vegetable oil into oleogels, which will largely replace toxic, hazardous and fossil-based substances. We will elucidate the chemical interactions between lignin and vegetable oils and define the conditions under which the coatings present optimal structure and performance. We will also investigate the corrosion, fouling and wear processes to gain insights into the underlying mechanisms and improving the anti-corrosion, anti-fouling and anti-wear properties of the coatings.