Solution-Borne Protective Carbon Monolayer Coatings

Carbon nanocoatings have emerged as high-performance solutions for the surface protection of engineering materials, especially in systems containing small precision components. For these applications, it is crucial that the nanocoating be continuous and defect-free even at thicknesses on the order of a few nanometers. High-energy vacuum deposition techniques are well-suited for this purpose but expensive and difficult to scale up to large areas or highvolume production. Here, we report a unique solution-borne method for preparing ultrathin, functional carbon nanocoatings under ambient conditions. A phosphonic acid surfactant conatining a highly reactive all-carbon hexayne segment forms a self-assembled monolayer on aluminium oxide that can subsequently be converted into a continuous, surface-bound carbon monolayer. The obtained coatings significantly reduce corrosion and secondary electron generation on aluminium substrates, demonstrating their effectiveness for surface modification and protection. Posted on 14 April 2026-CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0-This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary.