An innovative metal–organic framework (ZnMOF-BTA) with corrosion inhibition properties was prepared by the solvothermal reaction of zinc nitrate, 1,2,3-benzotriazole, and 2,5-thiophene dicarboxylic acid. ZnMOF-BTA was characterized by FTIR, XRD, XPS, SEM, and thermogravimetric analyses, and the corrosion inhibition performance on Q235 carbon steel in 1 M HCl solution was evaluated by weight loss, polarization, and EIS measurements. XRD results showed that ZnMOF-BTA has a monoclinic crystal structure and belongs to C12/c1 space group, while DTA/TGA results revealed it has a good crystalline quality and excellent thermal stability with a melting point of 410 °C. FTIR and XPS results revealed that Zn²⁺, TDC²⁻, and BTA molecules were successfully used in ZnMOF-BTA synthesis. Electrochemical test results show that the obtained ZnMOF-BTA is effective in corrosion inhibition of Q235 carbon steel in acidic conditions and maximum inhibition efficiency of over 90% is obtained at 6 wt.% ZnMOF-BTA extract concentration. Adsorption studies revealed that the adsorption of BTA molecules follows the Langmuir isotherm model with an R² value of 0.97889, while the ΔG◦_ads value of −10.28 kJ mol⁻¹ indicates that adsorption is by physisorption. The study provides a new corrosion inhibitor compound with proven corrosion inhibition properties.

The cold galvanizing coatings (CGCs) are used to repair old hot-dip galvanized steel (HDG) in numerous anticorrosion engineering, but poor adhesion of the CGC restricts its large-scale applications in the industries. For the purpose of overcoming the weak adhesion problems of the CGC on HDG, γ-chloropropyl triethoxysilane (CPTES) was added directly into cold galvanizing coatings (CPTES/CGC). Interface characteristics and related corrosion protection behaviors were investigated by the pull-off adhesion test, water contact angle measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and electrochemical tests. The experimental results revealed that, there is an increase by 19.1% of the CPTES/CGC surface free energy when compared with that of CGC. In addition, Si–O–Si and Si–O–Zn bonds were found in the CPTES/CGC, which indicate new network structures formed inside the CPTES/CGC, between the interface of the CPTES/CGC and HDG substrate, resulting in dry adhesion, wet adhesion, and the cathodic protection time of CPTES/CGC increased by 50% and 200% and 300% respectively compared with the CGC.