Mechanochemical stable coating for lasting corrosion protection
Researchers have prepared a superhydrophobic coating from fluorine-free and environmentally friendly materials. The mechanochemical stability of the coating was achieved through the encapsulation of epoxy resin.
Superhydrophobic coatings usually are vulnerable to protection failures in long-term practical applications due to the decomposition of low surface energy materials and destruction of rough structures. In a recent work, a self-healing dual-layer polydimethylsiloxane/superhydrophobic coating was constructed on an Al alloy toward corrosion protection. The coating with a water contact angle of 151 ± 2.4° exhibits excellent low water adhesion, self-cleaning, and antifouling properties. The lowest-frequency resistance modulus of dual-layer superhydrophobic coating increases by two orders of magnitude compared with that of single superhydrophobic coating.
Maintained superhydrophobicity
Moreover, the coating still maintains superhydrophobicity under high/low temperatures (0–100 °C), acid/alkaline solution (pH = 1–14), drastic ultraviolet radiation (7 days), and mechanical wear. More importantly, the coating restores its superhydrophobicity several times even in the face of extreme corrosive environments due to heating-driven migration of hydrophobic surfactants.
The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 178, May 2023.
