Nanocontainers with synergetic inhibition and corrosion protection abilities towards intelligent self-healing coatings

A new network structure of Ce (III) modified I-Ti3C2Tx (IT) (Ce@IT) was generated by covalent and/or coordination networks with a metal cation center of Ce (III) and imidazolium on the IT surface as a linker. The lamellar Ce@IT nanocomposites were formed with chemically bonded Ce-N bonds, which increased the crosslink density, ductility, and toughness of epoxy coatings, particularly by improving toughness and elongation at break. Furthermore, Ce3+ could be released from Ce@IT nanocomposites to form insoluble cerium-based oxide/hydroxide deposited on the substrate surface in the scratch areas and offer outstanding active and passive protection to epoxy coatings.