Construction of smart coatings containing core-shell nanofibers with self-healing and self-reporting properties

Organic coatings sustain damage during service inevitably. Accurately locating the damaged site and healing it simultaneously to prevent substrate exposure are significant challenges in extending the service life of metallic structures. This study reports on a smart protective coating with self-reporting and self-healing capabilities. The strategy was realized by embedding polyacrylonitrile (PAN) core-shell nanofibers containing 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole (2-AT) and crystal violet lactone (CVL) into organic coatings. When the PAN@2-AT/CVL coating was damaged, CVL at the damaged site emitted bright blue fluorescence under UV light, while 2-AT could adsorb and form a thin film on the steel surface to inhibit corrosion. Furthermore, the flexibility of the PAN@2-AT/CVL coating was significantly enhanced compared to the blank coating, which helped to reduce the formation of microcracks in the coating. The smart coating was expected to be widely applied for the protection of infrastructure in marine environments, offering new solutions for improving the performance of metallic protection materials.