Smart inhibitor systems towards anti-corrosion: design and applications

Smart corrosion inhibitor systems have been a hot research topic in recent years. Compared with conventional corrosion inhibitors or coatings, corrosion inhibitors can be released according to specific tasks to achieve more precise corrosion protection for metals. Such smart inhibitor systems are generally based on environmental stimuli such as pH, light, ions, etc., which save the cost of corrosion inhibitors and additives, and therefore improve the effectiveness of corrosion inhibition applications. Herein, the research progress on smart corrosion inhibitors in the past decade will be summarized, including the design, synthesis, smart release, and applications of different smart inhibitor systems.