Preparation of micro-SiO₂-doped composite silane films and their corrosion inhibition performance on simulated bronze

Metal cultural relics are an extremely important category of historical and cultural heritage. However, they are highly susceptible to various factors in soil burial or atmospheric environments, leading to severe corrosion. In this work, we developed a novel method for preparing a three-dimensional network protective film on metal cultural relics. 10 mL n-dodecyltrimethoxysilane was added first to form a porous network via hydrolysis-condensation, followed by injecting 0.036% hydrophilic gas-phase micro-SiO2 to construct a dense three-dimensional film, achieving 98.75% corrosion inhibition efficiency on simulated bronze. Based on self-assembly film technology, this method features safety, efficiency, and convenience. It avoids using corrosion inhibitors for well-preserved metal relics like bronze wares, offering new insights and protection methods for surface treatment of various metal relics and materials in museum collections.