Advancing Sustainable Antifungal Coatings by Eco-Friendly Chemical Curing of Natural Seed Oils

Cathy TangFollow

School Name

Spring Valley High School

Grade Level

11th Grade

Presentation Topic

Chemistry

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Abstract

Protective green coatings are advantageous because they are eco-friendly and sustainable. With stringent environmental regulations, there has been a growing interest in utilizing renewable natural resources as candidates for manufacturing eco-friendly coatings (Hermens et al., 2020). On the other hand, there is a societal and economical need for anti-microorganism materials that can act as protective coatings against mold growth on commonly used surfaces including wood (Maduka et al., 2019). The purpose of this study was to advance current protective coatings through a combination of mixed oils. The oils were placed under direct sunlight to form cured films on maple wood. The curing chemistry and its effect on chemical resistance, water resistance and thermal stability were characterized and evaluated by FTIR, 13C NMR, solvent immersion, water contact angle and thermogravimetric analysis. It was hypothesized that the unsaturation in the oil chemical compositions would impact their curing ability and fungal inhibition. The oil-coated samples were placed on agar petri dishes that were spread with White-rot fungi. The diameters of growth inhibition for each sample were measured over six days using an Agar diffusion assay. The results from a two-way ANOVA with replication method showed that the seed oils had a significant effect (F(6, 588) = 203.0904; p < 0.001), and a post-hoc Tukey test showed significant differences in pairwise comparisons between different oil coatings. By mixing with a small fraction of tung oil, both linseed and soybean oils showed curing rates at least two times faster than individual oils and demonstrated much better inhibition of growth against fungi. This class of green natural seed oil coatings could be beneficial both economically and socially, given their high abundance, low cost, and environmental friendliness.

Location

HSS 206

Start Date

4-2-2022 9:15 AM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Apr 2nd, 9:15 AM

Advancing Sustainable Antifungal Coatings by Eco-Friendly Chemical Curing of Natural Seed Oils

HSS 206

Protective green coatings are advantageous because they are eco-friendly and sustainable. With stringent environmental regulations, there has been a growing interest in utilizing renewable natural resources as candidates for manufacturing eco-friendly coatings (Hermens et al., 2020). On the other hand, there is a societal and economical need for anti-microorganism materials that can act as protective coatings against mold growth on commonly used surfaces including wood (Maduka et al., 2019). The purpose of this study was to advance current protective coatings through a combination of mixed oils. The oils were placed under direct sunlight to form cured films on maple wood. The curing chemistry and its effect on chemical resistance, water resistance and thermal stability were characterized and evaluated by FTIR, 13C NMR, solvent immersion, water contact angle and thermogravimetric analysis. It was hypothesized that the unsaturation in the oil chemical compositions would impact their curing ability and fungal inhibition. The oil-coated samples were placed on agar petri dishes that were spread with White-rot fungi. The diameters of growth inhibition for each sample were measured over six days using an Agar diffusion assay. The results from a two-way ANOVA with replication method showed that the seed oils had a significant effect (F(6, 588) = 203.0904; p < 0.001), and a post-hoc Tukey test showed significant differences in pairwise comparisons between different oil coatings. By mixing with a small fraction of tung oil, both linseed and soybean oils showed curing rates at least two times faster than individual oils and demonstrated much better inhibition of growth against fungi. This class of green natural seed oil coatings could be beneficial both economically and socially, given their high abundance, low cost, and environmental friendliness.