Graphene: a multipurpose material for protective coatings

Graphene based materials have attracted great interest in the development of new and advanced protective coatings due to their excellent chemical resistance, impermeability to gases, adsorption capacity, anti-bacterial properties, mechanical strength, lubricity and thermal stability. This review presents current progress and discusses the major challenges and future potential of graphene in the field of protective coatings. This review specifically focuses on the most recent advances in the application of graphene for corrosion resistant coatings, flame retardant coatings, wear/scratch resistant coatings, anti-fouling coatings, pollutant adsorption coatings and anti-septic coatings. This article reviews and discusses the potentialities, challenges and progress of graphene for application in multifunctional protective coatings.