Excellent Efficacy of MOF Films for Bronze Artwork Conservation: The Key Role of HKUST-1 Film Nanocontainers in Selectively Positioning and Protecting Inhibitors

Development of metal-organic framework (MOF) films for selectively positioning inhibitors in metallic anticorrosion applications remains a substantial challenge due to the difficulty of controlling the arrangement of inhibitor molecules in MOF pores. Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), which contains hydrophobic and hydrophilic tails, was chosen as a prototypical inhibitor and was selectively located in the pores of the classic HKUST-1 thin film on a metallic surface. Experimental results reveal that the prepared CTAB@HKUST-1 film displays good metallic anticorrosion performances, especially for bronze conservation. A possible anticorrosion mechanism of CTAB@HKUST-1 is proposed and fully discussed. The study provides an avenue for developing MOF-based thin films for metallic anticorrosion applications to address the environmental development issues related to corrosion.