A Review on the use of Graphene as a Protective Coating against Corrosion

Graphene was synthesized for the first time one decade ago and, during this time, the structure and properties of graphene have been well defined by many scientists. In parallel, some new graphene-based devices appeared, such as graphene field effect transistors, supercapacitors and micro electromechanical systems. Now is the moment to start exporting all these prototypes from the laboratory to the industry to move forward the technology. Such task will suppose a huge effort and will be accompanied by the necessary reliability tests to assess the lifetime of the new products, which will unavoidably generate important delays. On the other hand, among all applications of graphene, one may see the light faster than the others due to its simplicity: the use of graphene as protective coating. It has been demonstrated that the ultra-dense network of carbon atoms that form graphene is totally impermeable to protect a material from corrosion, and at the same time it is so thin that keeps unaltered the chemical properties of the protected material. In this review, we analyze the anti-corrosion properties of graphene and debate about its viability in near-future applications.