Development of Low-Carbon Coatings/Materials and Intelligent Construction Protection Technology

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2026 | Viewed by 432

Special Issue Editors

School of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255000, China
Interests: microbial modification technology; structural health monitoring and intelligent maintenance; green construction technology; resource utilization of construction wastes
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Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014000, China
Interests: recycled concrete and its durability; intelligent construction technology of PEC structures; low-carbon strengthening technology for buildings

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Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Interests: solid waste resource utilization; low-carbon cementitious materials; nano-modified smart materials; structural health monitoring; sustainable restoration technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rapid urbanization worldwide is driving an immense surge in demand for new buildings and infrastructure. This escalating demand intensifies critical sustainability challenges, manifesting through significantly heightened greenhouse gas emissions, accelerated depletion of finite natural resources, and widespread environmental degradation. These profound impacts accelerate the global construction industry's imperative to adopt and implement truly sustainable solutions. In response, the sector is witnessing remarkable progress in the research, development, and practical application of innovative low-carbon coatings/materials designed to drastically reduce the embodied carbon footprint of structures.

Concurrently, the industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation, fuelled by the rapid integration of intelligent construction technologies. This powerful technological shift—encompassing advancements like Building Information Modeling (BIM), Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, robotics, automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced data analytics—is fundamentally restructuring project delivery approaches for both buildings and civil infrastructure. It offers compelling benefits including enhanced operational efficiency, substantial gains in productivity, improved resource management, greater potential for circularity, and demonstrably improved overall project outcomes, thereby contributing significantly to sustainability goals.

Our proposed Topic Collection, “Development of Low-Carbon Coatings/Materials and Intelligent Construction Protection Technology”, seeks to comprehensively explore and illuminate the latest scientific and technological advancements driving this dual transformation. We are particularly interested in fostering interdisciplinary research that investigates the synergistic potential between novel low-carbon coatings/materials, recyclable and reusable materials fostering circular economy principles, and the deployment of intelligent construction systems. We aim to understand how these innovations collectively support and propel modern building technologies towards achieving low-carbon, green, and intelligent development paradigms. We welcome the submission of high-quality, original research papers and insightful review articles that address, but are not limited to, the following interconnected focus areas:

  • Green low-carbon coating;
  • Microbial modification technology;
  • Green and ecofriendly materials;
  • Life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental impact analysis;
  • Advanced buildings and infrastructure systems;
  • Sensors, smart structures, and intelligent control;
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) in assessment, design, management, and construction technologies;
  • Integrated application of building information modelling (BIM) and artificial intelligence in construction monitoring;
  • Structural health monitoring and intelligent maintenance.

Dr. Tian Su
Prof. Dr. Fubo Cao
Dr. Jianwen Shao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • low carbon materials
  • coatings
  • artificial intelligence
  • intelligent control
  • life cycle assessment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 6520 KB  
Article
Effect of Y2O3 Particle Size on the Microstructure and Properties of Ni-Co-Y2O3 Composite Coatings
by Linxin Qi, Hongmin Kan, Tingting Yue and Jiang Wu
Coatings 2025, 15(9), 1009; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15091009 - 1 Sep 2025
Abstract
In this study, Ni-Co-Y2O3 composite coating was prepared by electrodeposition, and the effect of Y2O3 particle size on the microstructure and properties of the coating was investigated. The samples were analyzed by XRD, SEM, AFM, EDS, cyclic [...] Read more.
In this study, Ni-Co-Y2O3 composite coating was prepared by electrodeposition, and the effect of Y2O3 particle size on the microstructure and properties of the coating was investigated. The samples were analyzed by XRD, SEM, AFM, EDS, cyclic voltammetry, XPS, hardness, and corrosion resistance test. The results indicate that the diffraction peak of the coating prepared with 50 nm particles exhibits reduced intensity and broadening, whereas the coating prepared with 100 nm particles displays a sharper and more pronounced peak. The onset reduction potential and the performance of the reduction reaction are influenced by particle size. When the particle size is 50 nm, the reduction process is less favorable, with an onset reduction potential of −0.9 V; in contrast, when the particle size is 100 nm, the reduction occurs more readily, with an onset reduction potential of −0.8 V. XPS analysis reveals that the chemical environment of elements varies with particle size. Regarding hardness, the coating prepared by combining different Y2O3 particle sizes exhibits higher hardness compared to that prepared using a single particle size, which can be attributed to the synergistic effect. In terms of corrosion resistance, the coating prepared with 100 nm Y2O3 particles demonstrates superior corrosion resistance, whereas the coating prepared with mixed particle sizes shows reduced stability and is more susceptible to corrosion. The coating prepared by mixing Y2O3 with particle size of 50 nm and 100 nm has a small friction coefficient. In summary, the particle size of Y2O3 has a significant influence on the microstructure, hardness, and corrosion resistance of Ni-Co-Y2O3 composite coatings. Full article
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