Superhydrophobic anticorrosive fluoroethylene vinyl ether coating nanocomposited with metal-organic framework derived ferrite nanocapsules and MXene

As an enormously valuable cultural heritage, to make sure bronze relics receive more protection and extend the preservation time, the exploration and research of protective coatings for bronze are a systematic, long-term, and specialized study project. However, because of the diversity of influencing factors and sensitivity of copper-based substrate, the stabilization of bronze is confronted with a major challenge. Herein, a novel multifunctional organic-inorganic hybrid coating of fluoroethylene vinyl ether (FEVE), metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived hollow dodecahedral NiCo₂O₄ nanocapsules, and Ti₃C₂T_x-MXene nanosheets (FEVE@NiCo₂O₄/Ti₃C₂T_x) with superior superhydrophobicity, weatherability, and structural stability was fabricated. The protective effect and anticorrosion performance of organic-inorganic hybrid coating were researched by morphological examination, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, accelerated aging test, and electrochemical measurements. Furthermore, the multifunctional FEVE@NiCo₂O₄/Ti₃C₂T_x coating exhibited favorable self-cleaning property, ultraviolet (UV) resistance, reversibility, and maintained good transparency without changing the bronze color and appearance, which would be attributed to the labyrinth effect and the complicated cross-linked skeleton of organic-inorganic hierarchical structure, preventing the transmission and diffusion of corrosive mediums. This work develops a novel material strategy to protect bronzes and explores the anticorrosion mechanism of multifunctional organic-inorganic hybrid, providing guidelines for next-generation promising protection coating.