Molecular-Level Hybridized Hydrophobic Geopolymer Ceramics for Corrosion Protection

Hydrophobic ceramics with low surface energies have a broad range of applications in both industry and domestic fields. However, the common surface-treatment-based hydrophobic ceramics are usually vulnerable and easily lose functions due to surficial mechanical damages. To address this challenge, here we propose a new strategy to produce intrinsically hydrophobic ceramics by leveraging alkylated-geopolymerization. As proof-of-concept, we designed and synthesized an alkylated-geopolymer (AGP) based ceramic with excellent waterproof performance and damage tolerance. Microstructure characterizations reveal that this organic–inorganic hybrid ceramic contains hybridized inorganic aluminosilicate networks and the alkylated-silicate units at the molecular level, offering benefits of superior hydrophobicity and functional robustness. The geopolymerization-mediated synthetic route demonstrated here enables a facile access to robust hybrid coating materials for enduring protection of metallic surfaces from corrosion in thermal environments (<350 °C) with high humidity. This work bridges the gaps between the organosilicate polymers and the inorganic aluminosilicate ceramics and helps open new avenues for designing of new functional ceramics from the molecular scale by a clean and low-cost procedure.