Layered
double hydroxide (LDH) has been widely used as
a two-dimensional
nanomaterial in the corrosion protection of epoxy (EP) coatings due
to its physical barrier properties and excellent ion exchange capacity.
However, conventional LDH with an interlayer of NO3
– (LDH-NO3) is prone to failure in corrosive
environments due to its limited ion exchange ability. It is demonstrated
in this work that, compared to an EP coating containing LDH-NO3 (EP/LDH-NO3), EP coatings containing ZnAl-LDH-MoO4
2– (EP/LDH-MoO4) and ZnAl-LDH-PO4
3– (EP/LDH-PO4) have stronger
corrosion resistance and self-healing abilities. This is attributed
to the trapping effect of corrosion anions between the LDH layers
by the inhibitor ions, which prevents the direct contact of the corrosion
anions with the substrate. In addition, the inhibitor ions can combine
with metal ions from the substrate to form insoluble complexes in
localized corrosion areas, thus blocking further deterioration. Furthermore,
EP/LDH-MoO4 has superior corrosion resistance and self-healing
properties compared to EP/LDH-PO4, as the more active MoO4
2– anions have a stronger ion exchange ability
than PO4
3–. This study not only highlights
the potential of inhibitor ions inserted in LDH layers for anticorrosion
but also paves the way toward the design of more effective EP-based
coatings.