Multifunctional MXene-Based anti-corrosion coatings with fiber-triggered ultrasonic emission for in-situ structural integrity monitoring

Multifunctional MXene-Based anti-corrosion coatings with fiber-triggered ultrasonic emission for in-situ structural integrity monitoring

Composites Part B: Engineering

10.1016/j.compositesb.2025.113104

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2025.113104

Jiapu Li, Shengjiang Yang, Yuliang Wu, Zefeng Yan, Dacheng Pi, Zhuohua Xiao, Ying Zeng, Xuelei Fu, Xin Gui, Huihui Jin, Daping He, Yi Guo, Xue Yang, Chen Wang, Meng Shen, Kui Yao, Xiao-Yu Yang, Zhengying Li

Structural Integrity Monitoring, Fiber-Triggered Ultrasonic Emission

18 October 2025

Li, J., Yang, S., Wu, Y., Yan, Z., Pi, D., Xiao, Z., Zeng, Y., Fu, X., Gui, X., Jin, H., He, D., Guo, Y., Yang, X., Wang, C., Shen, M., Yao, K., Yang, X.-Y., & Li, Z. (2026). Multifunctional MXene-Based anti-corrosion coatings with fiber-triggered ultrasonic emission for in-situ structural integrity monitoring. Composites Part B: Engineering, 309, 113104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2025.113104

Corrosion‐resistant coatings traditionally provide only passive protection, lacking the integrated sensing capability needed for monitoring the structural integrity of components in harsh environments. Here, we report a multifunctional polymer coating formed by incorporating MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. This design achieves durable anti-corrosion performance while enabling active photoacoustic structural health monitoring (SHM). The long‐term Published in Composites Part B, DOI:10.1016/j.compositesb.2025.113104, online on 17 October 2025, Vol. 309, 113104. stability of Ti3C2Tx under hydrofluoric acid exposure is confirmed by XPS, electrochemical measurements, and first ‐principles calculations. These results reveal that its corrosion resistance originates from the lamellar maze effect that prolongs ion diffusion pathways, together with robust Ti-C bonds and abundant surface terminations. Leveraging the photothermal property of MXene, an optical fiber embedded within the Ti3C2Tx-PDMS coating delivers pulsed laser excitation, enabling synchronized multi‐point ultrasonic generation via the photoacoustic effect. The resulting Lamb waves allow detection of surface defects as small as 0.5 mm with a localization accuracy of 97.4%. This work introduces a new paradigm for intelligent protective coatings that integrate corrosion resistance with in-situ SHM. These coatings offer clear advantages over conventional coatings and current SHM methods for infrastructure, marine, and aerospace applications.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - Industry Alignment Fund – Industry Collaboration Projects Grant
Grant Reference no. : I2301E0027

This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - A*STAR Distinguished Fellowship Award
Grant Reference no. :

https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/22794

1359-8368

Institute of Materials Research and Engineering