Eco-friendly smart multifunctional composite coatings for long-lasting corrosion protection of magnesium and its alloys

General Information

The World is moving towards sustainable economic growth and green technologies; therefore, the high specific strength, easy recyclability and lightweight of Magnesium (Mg) based materials make them potential options to minimize weight, save energy and reduce environmental issues. However, their poor corrosion resistance in aqueous and atmospheric conditions limits their widespread usage in many industrial applications. Enormous effort has been made to protect Mg and its alloys against degradation and improve their service time. Despite that, the questions related to their durability, longevity, biocompatibility, cost and environmental impacts must be resolved.
This project aims to develop durable, multifunctional multilayer composite (MMC) coatings to provide long-term corrosion protection to Mg-based materials. Durability and long-term protection will be achieved by using eco-friendly materials and considering interfacial adhesion strength between substrate/composite within the multilayers and their surrounding environments. MMC coatings will be prepared to protect Mg-based materials against corrosion and give a visual response when the coating is damaged to achieve this scientific goal. MMC coating will consist of a self-assembled organic layer, a polymeric composite containing corrosion inhibitor and sensing agents loaded metal-organic frameworks (MOF) using a stimuli-responsive polymeric gatekeeper in a single layer and a top self-cleaning hydrophobic polymeric layer. They will provide adequate long-term corrosion protection of Mg-based structures by the synergistic effect of self-cleaning, passive barrier layers and on-demand release of active corrosion inhibitors from loaded MOF.
Corrosion-sensing agents encapsulated MOF will monitor the onset of corrosion upon physical damage to the coatings for large area systems. MMC coatings will ensure minimum cost and environmental impacts consistent with desired properties and help to substitute PFAS.
This is an individual Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Fellowship Grant for Dr. Aatif Ijaz. After completing his PhD, Dr. Ijaz worked as a post-doc at the Instituto de Ceramica Y Vidrio (CSIC-ICV) in Madrid and at the Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín in Slovakia.

EU-Programme Acronym and Subprogramme Area	HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
Project Type	HORIZON MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship - European Fellowship
Contract Number	Grant Agreement 101152322
Co-ordinator	Helmholtz-Zentrum hereon GmbH (DE)

Funding for the Project (€)	Funding for Hereon (€)
189,687	189,687

Contact Person at Hereon

Prof. Dr. Mikhail Zheludkevich, Institute of Surface SciencePhone: +49 4152 87 1988 E-mail contact

Participants

Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (DE)

Last Update: 14. August 2025