CORROSION RESISTANT SOL GEL COMPRISING A SOLUBLE THIO-LANTHANIDE SALT

Aspects described herein generally relate to a sol-gel that is the reaction product of an organosilane, a metal alkoxide, an acid, and a thio-lanthanide salt having a solubility of about 1 gram or greater per gram of sol-gel at 23° C. The thio-lanthanide salt includes a cation and a thio-ligand. The cation can be lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium, yttrium, cobalt, calcium, strontium, barium, and zirconium. In another aspect, a component, such as a vehicle component, includes a metal substrate and a sol-gel disposed on the metal substrate. Methods can include forming a sol-gel by mixing a metal alkoxide and an acid to form a first mixture; mixing with the first mixture an organosilane to form a second mixture; and mixing with the second mixture a lanthanide salt to form a third mixture.