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Molecules
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Functional Coatings and Membranes: Design, Properties and Applications
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Functional Coatings and Membranes: Design, Properties and Applications

A Special Issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049) belonging to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 669

Editor

Dr. Guiyong Xiao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China
Interests: coating; bioactivity; functional design; corrosion resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The microstructure and characteristics of materials surface, including topography, roughness, hydrophilicity, electrical conductivity, and elemental composition, have a significant impact on their combination properties. These properties can be modified through various chemical methods such as anodization, microarc oxidation, plasma spraying, ion implantation, biomimetic deposition, and chemical conversion. To address an increasingly diverse range of challenges, continuous research efforts are being undertaken globally in both academia and industry to discover innovative techniques for modifying the surface of materials.

This Special Issue, titled “Functional Coatings and Membranes: Design, Properties and Applications”, aims to provide a platform for researchers to present current and recent advancements in technological and theoretical descriptions of material surface modification. We invite the submission of original research papers, review articles, and short communication letters.

The potential topics encompass a wide range of subjects focusing on material chemistry, including, but not limited to, the following areas:

  • Design, synthesis, and processing of coatings on material surfaces;
  • Innovative applications in the field of material surface modification;
  • Micro/nano structural optimization of material surfaces;
  • Chemical functionalization of materials;
  • Corrosion resistance of materials;
  • Chemical methods for surface strengthening of materials.

Dr. Guiyong Xiao
Guest Editor

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

  • surface modification
  • micro/nano structure
  • coating
  • membranes
  • functional design

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 26275 KB  
Article
Enhancing the Corrosion Resistance of AlCoCrFeNi High-Entropy Alloy Coatings via TiO2 Doping
by Ying Wang, Yan Xiong, Shuobin Chen, Mao Zhang, Yuxuan Liu, Zhigang Hu and Ming Ma
Molecules 2026, 31(18), 3205; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31183205 (registering DOI) - 11 Sep 2026
Abstract
This study investigated the corrosion resistance of laser-cladded AlCoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy coatings with varying TiO2 content (0 wt.%, 0.5 wt.%, 1.0 wt.%, and 1.5 wt.%) in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. Optimal cladding parameters (1500 W, 40 mm/s, 11.9 g/min) were determined via [...] Read more.
This study investigated the corrosion resistance of laser-cladded AlCoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy coatings with varying TiO2 content (0 wt.%, 0.5 wt.%, 1.0 wt.%, and 1.5 wt.%) in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. Optimal cladding parameters (1500 W, 40 mm/s, 11.9 g/min) were determined via orthogonal experiments. TiO2 promoted Ti-rich BCC2-phase precipitation, increased corrosion potential (from −1.4185 V to −0.6841 V), decreased corrosion current density (from 2.33 × 10−4 to 2.28 × 10−6 A/cm2), and enhanced charge-transfer resistance. XPS analysis demonstrated that TiO2 promoted the enrichment of FeO, Cr2O3, and TiO2 components in the passive film while reducing the Al2O3 fraction, leading to the formation of a dense and stable composite passive film that effectively inhibited chloride ion attack. In summary, an appropriate amount of TiO2 doping significantly enhances the corrosion resistance of laser-cladded AlCoCrFeNi HEA coatings, with the 1.5 wt.% addition being the best-performing among the investigated compositions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Coatings and Membranes: Design, Properties and Applications)
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16 pages, 6343 KB  
Article
Sea Anemone-Inspired Fluorosilicone Polyurethane Coating with Synergistic Low-Surface-Energy and Cationic Antibacterial Action for Static Antifouling
by Shuiwang Jiang, Yuyi Zhu, Xiangfeng Chen, Hongyi Liu, Xuezhi Jiang, Yahao Zhang, Hui Gong, Ting Huang, Dengfeng Zeng and Quan Liu
Molecules 2026, 31(15), 2717; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31152717 - 5 Aug 2026
Viewed by 382
Abstract
Conventional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based antifouling coatings, despite their inherent fouling-release capability, exhibit critically insufficient antifouling performance under static seawater conditions. Inspired by the synergistic physical–chemical defense strategy of sessile marine organisms, specifically sea anemones, which combine a physical mucus barrier with antimicrobial peptide secretion, [...] Read more.
Conventional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based antifouling coatings, despite their inherent fouling-release capability, exhibit critically insufficient antifouling performance under static seawater conditions. Inspired by the synergistic physical–chemical defense strategy of sessile marine organisms, specifically sea anemones, which combine a physical mucus barrier with antimicrobial peptide secretion, the present work develops a multi-mechanism hybrid coating—designated as sea anemone-inspired fluorosilicone polyurethane—that integrates low-surface-energy physical antifouling and cationic antibacterial chemical antifouling. This coating system is constructed from silicone polyurethane (PDMS-PU), a cationic antibacterial moiety (PDMS-N+), and fluorinated functional monomers. Through systematic compositional optimization, an optimal formulation (P-4) is identified, which achieves a fracture elongation of 78.19%, a normal adhesion strength of approximately 2.5 MPa, a water contact angle of 120°, and a surface energy of 12.86 mN/m. Notably, its antibacterial rates against both Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) exceed 95%. The resultant coating uniquely synergizes low surface energy, potent antibacterial activity, excellent mechanical properties, and thermal stability, thereby enabling long-term and stable antifouling performance in static seawater environments. This work provides a crucial technological foundation for the engineering application and industrialization of green, durable marine antifouling coatings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Coatings and Membranes: Design, Properties and Applications)
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