Designing an eco-friendly lanthanide-based metal organic framework (MOF) assembled graphene-oxide with superior active anti-corrosion performance in epoxy composite

What makes the Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) applicable for a myriad of industrial usages is their unique and diverse building units with tunable properties. In this work, an eco-friendly MOF based on cerium (Ce-MOF) was constructed on the graphene oxide nanosheets (GO@Ce-MOF) in an aqueous media to fabricate an active (inhibitive)/passive (barrier) anti-corrosion coating system. The Ce-MOF nanoparticles were constructed with 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic acid as the organic linker resulting in a compact and straw sheaf-like structure. Then, the graphene oxide is hosted as a nano-container for the Ce-MOF nanoparticles, and the obtained nanoparticles are added to the epoxy matrix. The successful synthesis of nanoparticles was confirmed using varieties of techniques i.e. Raman spectroscopy and TEM. The surface area and thermal behaviors of the nanoparticles were assessed using BET and TGA methods, respectively. The active/passive anti-corrosion potency of the constructed nanostructures was investigated in an epoxy matrix using the EIS technique and salt spray test. On the other hand, the EIS results from the scratched coatings after 48 h showed approximately 500% improvement in the corrosion resistance of GO@Ce-MOF/EP compared with the Blank/EP coating. In addition, the GO@Ce-MOF/EP coating showed superior barrier properties with low-frequency values higher than 10(10) Omega cm(2) after 7 weeks of immersion in corrosive media.

Automated summary

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are widely used in industrial applications due to their unique building units with tunable properties. In this study, an eco-friendly Ce-MOF based on graphene oxide nanosheets (GO@Ce-MOF) was synthesized for an active/passive anti-corrosion coating system. The nanoparticles showed improved corrosion resistance in EIS tests and superior barrier properties after immersion in corrosive media.