Nanocontainers of the type CuO and CeMo were filled with bromosphaerol and 8-hydroxyquinoline, respectively, and incorporated into commercial marine paints. The generated paints with nanotechnology perform better in laboratory tests with respect to fouling and corrosion and test carried out via painting commercial ship traveling across the Adriatic Sea for a year than the currently used commercial paints. This is another application of nanotechnology that will someday find a commercial application. Since copper oxide is used for the current commercial paints and bromosphaerol is a natural biocide, there will be no need to pass the expensive approvals to use these antifoulants.
Part of the book: Engineering Failure Analysis
Self-healing was considered for repairing of destruction of reinforced concrete on bridges, houses, etc., that comes from corrosion of reinforcement metals as well as cracking in cement. The work was accomplished at producing and assessing through incorporate ceramic nanocontainers loaded with microorganisms. We produced various types of organic and inorganic nanocontainers that were incorporated into the cement that can act as carriers for the transport of bacteria. The microorganisms used in the work are Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Precipitation of CaCO3 was observed by both bacteria. As microspheres do not affect the submersion of the mineral by the microorganism, additional studies were carried out to assess the interaction between transmission microsystems and bacterium. The mechanism of self-healing of building materials in this work was based on CaCO3 precipitation, through the ureolytic action of bacteria. When a crack appears in the cement, then the bacterium trapped in a nanocontainers is released and comes into contact with the water. In this way, the microorganism begins to metabolize and precipitate the mineral, in a way that eventually observes healing of the crack. CaCO3 microbial precipitation was based on the breakdown of urea (CO (NH2)2) into CO32− and NH3. Due to the high pK value of the NH3/NH4+ system (pKa = 9.2), the breakdown reaction led to an increase in pH, favoring the release of carbonated ions (CO32−), and in an environment rich in calcium ions (Ca2+), CaCO3 precipitation took place.
Part of the book: Advanced Ceramic Materials