Multi-component efficient protective mechanisms for composite coatings under Marine duress: Molecular structure and piezoelectric effect

Addressing biofouling, corrosion, damage to the surfaces of underwater artificial facilities, coping with harsh and complex marine environments, and implementing cost-effective multiple protections are at the heart of the effective development and utilization of marine resources. However, a single strategy cannot achieve multifaceted marine protection, and multi-strategy synergistic mechanisms and scaled-up synthesis methods remain challenges for this application. Herein, a scalable method is reported for the preparation of multi-functional Z-scheme ZnO@BiOI/smart key-lock self-healing protective coating with performs well under duress conditions. A multi-functional coating was prepared via simple radical polymerization and solvothermal strategies. As a result, coatings with greater than 97% anticorrosion and bacteria removal, greater than 98% diatom deposition prevention, less than 10 hours self-healing time in air and water environments. The excellent performance even under coercive conditions is attributed to the utilization of hollow core-shell heterostructures and "key-locked" contacts. Based on the simplicity of the preparation process and the excellent performance the coatings are suitable for multifaceted protection of large marine structures.