Recent advances of cerium compounds in functional coatings: Principle, strategies and applications

Cerium (Ce) compounds have attracted considerable attention as key components in functional coatings due to their many outstanding properties. This work provides a comprehensive review of recent advances in the application of Ce in functional coatings. The role of Ce in the improvement of functional properties such as corrosion-resistance, self-healing, superhydrophobicity, wear-resistance, and UV shielding is reviewed from the perspective of functional mechanism and applied research. Furthermore, the strategies, processes, practical problems, and current challenges in the research of functional coatings containing Ce are summarized and discussed. The objective is to highlight the great potential of Ce in functional coatings, and to explore new applications of Ce in the development of novel coatings. Thus, this work aims to enhance the application value of Ce, solving the problem of unbalanced application of rare-earth elements.