The recent "European Coatings Show" in Nuremberg (8. - 10. 4.), the biggest show of its kind in the world, has had its sensation and discussion theme: the first presentation of coatings containing "Organic Metals".
After almost 20 years of basic research, carried out in the mother company Zipperling Kessler & Co., the Ormecon Chemie from Ahrensburg near Hamburg succeeded last year to realise first commercial applications with these new materials. The small high-tech company had made a broad and successful basic research and applied product development from the chemistry and physical properties, via the complex processing (dispersion) up to the applications leading to a complex technology, which is now in the stage of being introduced in first markets.
The main focus is directed towards corrosion protection., Here the new coatings are showing extraordinary properties, because the Organic Metal is ennobling the conventional, corrosive metal, and additionally form a passivating oxide layer. Dr. Bernhard Wessling, managing partner and also senior research chemist in the company, presented this technology, developed by him, during the parallel congress to the expert audience.
"It is understandable, that the experts from the coatings and corrosion industry are reluctant towards this completely new technology", he admits, "but the first practical applications and independent test results are convincing."
At least, they wanted to inform themselves, and therefore, the small booth of Ormecon Chemie at the Nuremberg Show Centre was always crowded. With coatings applicators, paint producers and trade companies, first, partially promising contacts have been established.
Especially the test results and the practical experiences with the new anti-corrosion coating systems named "CORRPASSIV®" have found a very interested audience: the coating of small metal parts (like screws, fasteners ...), today mostly performed by galvanic processes using environmentally poisonous materials like chromates, can be realised more easily, cost effective and environmental-friendly using the Organic Metals Coatings CORRPASSIV®. "Especially the protection of edges and scratches, normally the starting point of corrosion, is much enhanced, as ennobling and passivation by the Organic Metal are a long reaching effect, over 1 to 2 mm away from the coating edge," explains Dr. Wessling.
Several tests in the last months, e.g. at the aerospace company McDonnell-Douglas in the U.S., have shown, that chromates can be replaced completely, and the new technology even shows a better performance than those toxic materials.
In January, the company had introduced a specific system for the corrosion protection in the boat and ship industry, "Skippers CORRPASSIV". With this system, actually an 80 years old steel sailing ship, the "Anny of Hamburg", is being restored. In the boat market, the new system has found tremendous attention.
"In spite of this, we are counting with a long time before break-through of our technology," Dr. Wessling says. Actually, they are offering 5 different anti-corrosion coating systems. for diverse application areas. More systems, like for coil coating, are in development.
In the meantime, the company hopes to realise some significant turnover in the printed circuit board industry.
"Organic Metals" are a class of synthetic, purely organic materials (composed by carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur), mostly polymers, which are electrically conductive and are transporting their electrons like metals do. It is not necessary, that they reach conductivity values like copper, but the mechanism of the electron transport is crucial for its classification as metals. Dr. Wessling, Zipperling Kessler and now its subsidiary Ormecon Chemie have taken part in the world-wide research activity since almost 20 years now, and have contributed several basic key results. Actually, Ormecon Chemie is the first and only company to offer and produce commercially available and used Organic Metals.
Ahrensburg, 14. 4. 97
Dr. B. Wessling
