Magnesium alloy has significant advantages in lightweighting and is widely used in aviation, automobiles, and electronic devices. However, its electrode potential is extremely low, and it is prone to uneven and continuous corrosion in chlorine-containing environments. Traditional epoxy resins rely solely on physical barriers and a single corrosion inhibitor filler is prone to being depleted quickly. The corrosion of magnesium alloys is divided into two stages: an initial intense stage and a later stable stage. The existing coatings cannot match the dynamic evolution pattern of corrosion, resulting in a significant shortcoming in long-term protection life. The porous structure of diatomite and the high drug-loading potential of ZIF-8 have been used separately, lacking a hierarchical composite system to simultaneously achieve long-term barrier and on-demand release.
Professor Zhang Yuxin's team from Chongqing University, specializing in new silicon algae material innovation, used natural diatom (DE) as the base to in-situ grow layered hierarchical SZIF-8 carriers, loaded sodium molybdate corrosion inhibitor to construct Na₂MoO₄@SZIF-8-DE intelligent filler, and combined with E51 epoxy resin to prepare an adaptive anti-corrosion coating.
This work breaks through the traditional static anti-corrosion thinking and establishes a new strategy of corrosion evolution-matched time-sequenced slow-release protection. It provides a brand-new design scheme for the long-term anti-corrosion coating of lightweight magnesium alloys in aviation and transportation. The related results have been published in Nano Research on June 22, 2026.
About the Authors
Professor Zhang Yuxin's Profile
Professor and PhD Supervisor at Chongqing University’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chief of Silago New Materials at Mingyue Lake Laboratory and Executive Deputy Editor of Nano Material Science, he is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher on Stanford University’s Top 2% Global Scientists list, a Chongqing academic and young scientific leader, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Shandong Taishan Industrial Leading Talent. Focused long-term on silago biomimetic nanocomposites, metal alloy long-term anti-corrosion, environmental functional materials and extreme-environment military-civilian infrastructure research, he has undertaken over 20 national/provincial projects with 29,338 citations and an H-index of 96, claiming multiple provincial-ministerial first prizes including the 2022 Chongqing Natural Science First Prize and 2021 Non-metallic Mineral Science and Technology First Prize as the first completer. He develops an integrated undergraduate-postgraduate training system, built a silago materials innovation platform and guided students to win national "Internet +" competition gold, published two academic monographs and one popular science book on silago, and built interdisciplinary pilot platforms with aerospace and new materials enterprises to boost industry-university-research collaboration.
Diatom New Materials Innovation Team
The team has established a complete platform for material synthesis - multi-scale characterization - theoretical calculation based on the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Chongqing University, the National Key Laboratory of Mountain and Earthquake Engineering Safety, and the Mingyue Lake Laboratory. The core directions include the modification of natural diatom minerals, composite intelligent corrosion inhibitors, lightweight metal long-term protective coatings, and biomimetic functional materials. The team has published a series of results in top journals such as Nano-Micro Letters, Advanced Powder Materials, Nano Research on June 22, 2026, and Chemical Engineering Journal. They have mastered independent core technologies such as in-situ growth of two-dimensional MOFs from diatoms and pH-time-dependent slow-release fillers. They are conducting technological transformation for lightweight metal corrosion prevention in aviation, rail transportation, and marine equipment. The team also regularly recruits master's and doctoral students in materials, chemical engineering, and biology. Students interested in nanoscale corrosion prevention and biomimetic materials are welcome to submit inquiries (email: zhangyuxin@cqu.edu.cn).
DOI Link:
https://doi.org/10.26599/NR.2026.94908635
About Nano Research
Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 8,000 articles. In 2025 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2025 IF is 9.4 (8.3, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.
Nano Research
Hierarchical lamellar ZIF-8-based epoxy coatings with time-adaptive, pH-triggered stepwise inhibitor release for durable corrosion protection of magnesium alloys
22-Jun-2026