• • Silane modification with VTEO and KH550 yielded homogeneous CeO2 nanosheet dispersion in epoxy, eliminating aggregation-induced defects; FT-IR and XRD confirmed covalent grafting, which is critical for consistent barrier performance in aerospace coatings where a single microcrack can accelerate chloride-induced pitting.
• • After 168 h UV accelerated aging, the VTEO−CeO2/Epoxy coating maintained a corrosion current density of 3.175×10−7 A/cm2, two orders of magnitude lower than pure epoxy and unmodified CeO2/Epoxy controls, directly extending the service interval for aluminum-lithium airframe components exposed to solar radiation.
• • UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy demonstrated that modified CeO2 converts absorbed UV energy into heat, suppressing photodegradation of aromatic ether and CH3−C bonds; this mechanism prevents the chalking and gloss loss that typically reduce coating barrier integrity within 500 h of QUV exposure.
• • The self-healing mechanism relies on Ce3+ reacting with H2O and O2 to form insoluble CeO2 and Ce(OH)3 at damage sites, blocking micropores; this autonomous repair reduces the need for manual inspection and touch-up, lowering maintenance costs for aerospace and automotive aluminum structures.