Herman Terryn is professor at the Faculty of Engineering of VUB with a chair in Surface Science and Engineering and part time professor in the group Corrosion and Electrochemical of Tu Delft. He was also cluster leader of Durability of Materials within the Dutch top research center M2i-Materials Innovations Institute. His research focuses on surface treatments, coatings and surface analysis of different materials.
For decades, scientists and engineers are searching for a safe and environmentally friendly alternative for the toxic chromate corrosion inhibitors in active protective coatings for the protectection of aluminium alloys. In his research many different compounds have been investigated to be used as leachable corrosion inhibitor, but no alternative with equal or better performance compared to chromates has been found yet for for example aerospace applications. In the interview he discusses in detail the working mechanims of chromium-6 in all kinds of coatings and why chromium-6 has been used in the past in almost all applications as a corrosion inhibitor.
