Inorganic–organic hybrid coatings: common and new approaches

•Compositions of bonded inorganic and organic phases generate new hybrid materials.•Thermal stability and protection functions of hybrid coatings are significantly improved.•The advantages of hybrid coatings lead to expansion of their fields of applications.

Development of inorganic–organic hybrid coatings has been fruitful for introducing lots of advantages in performance of coatings, compared to homogenous organic polymer coatings or non-hybrid filled polymer coatings. Considering the benefits of hybrid coatings, the range of different structures and compositions applied in such coatings continuously increases. The current review demonstrates general features of inorganic–organic hybrid coatings, some recent developments in this field, types of hybrid coatings implementing different structures, a brief summary of general characterization techniques and selected applications.