International. Researchers at London's Centre for Nanotechnology revealed and analysed detailed 3D images of an important industrial coating that is used to reduce corrosion of ships' hulls.
The work, carried out in collaboration with the paint and coating company AkzoNobel, allows the automatic identification of aluminum, talc, pigments and other charge components in the image based solely on X-ray refraction data.
The high-resolution images were combined with detailed modeling of the painting's function, to produce two key insights. The permeability of the material to ions, one of the main causes of corrosion, was found to be more reduced in the direction the coating passes. In addition, the passage of ions was seen to be blocked by the morphology of the aluminum component. The images show that these align with the surface during the application of the paint.
The images were obtained using an X-ray 3D visualization method, called X-ray "Ptychography-Tomography," developed at the Swiss Light Source in Villigen, near Zurich and which was recently used by Pfeiffer's group in Munich to visualize in 3D the arrangement of osteocytes in bone, and is expected to see wide applications in nanoscience and technology.
