Dual-responsive Ti3C2Tx@PANI-BTA nano-container: Synergistic integrated design for high-performance corrosion inhibition and rapid de-icing coating

Metallic infrastructure in polar environments faces combined threats of severe corrosion and ice accretion, demanding advanced multifunctional coatings to extend service life. Here, we designed an integrated multifunctional coating by in-situ polymerization of pH/redox-responsive PANI onto BTA-doped Ti 3 C 2 T x nanosheets (MPB), enabling long-term corrosion protection, self-healing, and efficient photothermal deicing. It not only overcomes MXene's inherent oxidation and agglomeration issues, but also integrates: (i) an enhanced physical barrier via the Ti 3 C 2 T x “labyrinth effect”; (ii) an intelligent on-demand release of BTA triggered by both pH trigger and redox of PANI—a dual-stimuli-responsive mechanism; and (iii) superior photothermal conversion from complementary light absorption of Ti 3 C 2 T x (localized surface plasmon resonance) and PANI (broad NIR harvesting). 0.10 wt% MPB/EP coating exhibits exceptional long-term anticorrosion, retaining a low-frequency impedance modulus (|Z| 0.01 Hz ) of 8.42 × 10 9 Ω·cm 2 after 80-day immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl—three orders of magnitude higher than pure EP. Simultaneously, it demonstrates efficient photothermal de-icing, completely melting a frozen water droplet within 285 s under 1-sun illumination at −10 °C, outperforming pristine Ti 3 C 2 T x /EP (340 s). This work offers a viable “all-in-one” strategy for designing high-performance protective coatings suited to harsh, corrosive, and icy environments.