The Biological Functionality of Electro-Galvanized Steels Coated with a Hybrid Composite Containing Pyrethroid

Abstract

The electronic industries require environmentally-friendly and highly functional materials to enhance thequality of human life. Home appliances require insect repellent steels that work to protect household microwaveovens from incurring damage by insects such as fire ants and cockroaches in tropical regions. Thus, POSCOhas developed new types of functional steels, coated with an array of organic-inorganic hybrid compositeson the steel surface, to cover panels in microwave ovens and refrigerators. The composite solution usesa fine dispersion of hybrid solution with polymeric resin, inorganic and a pyrethroid additive in aqueousmedia. The hybrid composite solution coats the steel surface, by using a roll coater and is cured usingan induction curing furnace on both the continuous galvanizing line and the electro-galvanizing line. Thenew steels were evaluated for quality performances, salt spray test for corrosion resistance and biologicalperformance for both insect repellent and antimicrobial activity. The new steels with organic-inorganic compositecoating exhibit extraordinarily biological functionalities, for both insect repellent and antimicrobial activitiesfor short and long term tests. The composite-coating solution and experimental results are discussed andsuggest that the molecular level dispersion of insecticide on the coating layer is key to biological functionalperformances.