Research progress of g-C3N4-based photocatalytic anticorrosion coatings

Abstract

Metal corrosion remains a long-standing challenge for industrial facilities, marine engineering and other fields. In recent years, photocatalytic anticorrosion coatings have become a current research hotspot due to their environmentally friendly, low-toxicity, active anticorrosion properties and potential for long-lasting protection. In particular, graphite nitride (g-C3N4) has been widely used as a photocatalytic anti-corrosion filler to enhance the barrier protection capability and thus inhibit corrosive ions due to its unique two-dimensional layered structure and excellent physicochemical properties. This review comprehensively describes the latest research progress of carbon nitride-based photocatalytic anti-corrosion materials, including the development history, synthesis pathway, and intrinsic mechanism of g-C3N4 materials, and discusses in detail about the modification strategies of g-C3N4-based photocatalytic anti-corrosion systems. Therein, emphasis is placed on the modification approaches of precise modulation of morphology, heterogeneous structure building, novel photothermal synergistic effects, and corrosion inhibitor loading, aiming to prolong the corrosion ion transport paths and enhance the photogenerated carrier transfer rate to strengthen the cathodic polarization effect and achieve highly efficient anticorrosion performances. This review also provides a comprehensive overview of the current research progress and future directions of g-C3N4-based photocatalytic materials as anticorrosive fillers, as well as an ideal reference for researchers in the field of anticorrosive coatings.