Abstract: Corrosion is an ubiquitous and thermodynamically inevitable degradation phenomenon associated with the interaction of metallic materials with their environment. Because corrosion has a significant economic and safety impact on society it is not surprising that, over the past 25 years the development of corrosion prevention and protection methods has been my research group’s target area. Approaches available for controlling corrosion include the application of protective coatings to metal surfaces to act as a barrier or perhaps provide sacrificial protection, the addition of chemical species to the environment to inhibit corrosion, alteration of an alloy composition to enhance its corrosion resistance, and the treatment of the surface to improve its corrosion behaviour. Seeking to develop and improve corrosion protection technology, incorporating environmental concerns, has driven our research at National Technical University of Athens (NTUA).
Our work in these areas will be reviewed and current results presented. In particular, the application of conductive polymers as anti-corrosion coatings will be discussed as well as a new chrome-free passivation method of tinplate. Forecasts of future developments in this area will be presented
 

Brief Biography of the speaker:
D.K.Yfantis received his Msc in Chemical Engineering from National Technical University of Athens, Greece (1966).He received his Ph.D (Dr.rer.nat) from Technical University of Munich, Department of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry (1986). He is Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). He is currently visiting professor of University of Athens (Post-graduate program of Dental School) and professor of Post-graduate program, Materials Science and Technology in National Technical University of Athens. He was a visiting professor in the University of Trento (Dipartimento di Ingeneriadei Materiali, Italy,1995).
His research interests cover the area of materials (metallic and biomaterials), especially he focuses on corrosion-protection, development of anticorrosive methods and advanced coatings (based on conductive polymers). He is an author and co-author of more than 160 articles in journals and conference proceedings. He is an author of 5 books in corrosion-protection of materials and biomaterials. He has participated in five European programmes (one of them was awarded, craft award).He has organised 5 conferences in Greece on anticorrosive paints.