Novel dopamine loaded Zn-Co-coreshell-MOF decorated Ti3C2 MXene nano-layers reinforced epoxy composite; toward smart steel rebar corrosion control in the simulated concrete pore solution

Despite epoxy coatings, civil engineering still struggles with steel rebar corrosion in concrete. Long-term protection ability of epoxy coatings is limited by coating damage, which causes micro-cracking and permeability. APTES and a core–shell metal–organic framework (MOF) system based on ZIF-67 and ZIF-8 with dopamine as an active corrosion inhibitor were used to modify MXene nanolayers as an advanced material to address these issues. Advanced characterization methods like FT-IR, XRD, TGA, BET, and FE-SEM confirmed the modified MXene and MOF particle synthesis. Later performance tests showed that the composite was more protective than the blank epoxy sample. Pull-off adhesion tests showed that the inhibitor-encapsulated sample lost 13.2 % adhesion, compared to 71.78 % for the blank epoxy sample. The blank epoxy sample had a separation radius of 5.3 mm in cathodic disbondment testing, while the optimal sample had 4.2 mm, indicating better adhesion retention. Salt spray testing showed fewer blisters in MOF-nanoparticle-containing samples, indicating anti-corrosion. In phase solution corrosion testing at 48 h post-immersion, the inhibitor-enhanced sample had 4.32-fold higher corrosion resistance than the blank epoxy sample. Active protection was evaluated through scratch tests, where the blank epoxy sample exhibited a log |Z| value of 5.795 at 10 mHz, while the inhibitor-containing sample showed a higher value of 6.828, indicating enhanced resistance. After 30 days of immersion in a simulated concrete environment, the neat epoxy displayed a log |Z| _10mHz of 9.09, whereas the optimized, inhibitor-loaded sample demonstrated an improved value of 10.35, confirming superior long-term corrosion mitigation.