A research team led by Maryam Sanchuli has developed a novel smart nanocarrier system to enhance the corrosion resistance of epoxy coatings. Oxidised multi-walled carbon nanotubes (OMWCNTs) were functionalised with zinc ions and sodium gluconate (SG-OMWCNTs-Zn) and incorporated into an epoxy matrix. Electrochemical tests (EIS, potentiodynamic polarisation) demonstrated that adding SG-OMWCNTs-Zn reduced steel corrosion by approximately 86 % in saline environments. Enhanced adhesion and reduced cathodic disbondmentEmbedding SG-OMWCNTs-Zn into epoxy led to an 83 % improvement in adhesion strength and a 75 % reduction in cathodic disbondment compared with unmodified epoxy coatings. In salt spray tests, SG-OMWCNTs-Zn containing samples exhibited a corrosion resistance of 57,008 Ω·cm² after 48 hours – around four times higher than neat epoxy.