High corrosion protection performance of a novel nonfluorinated biomimetic superhydrophobic Zn-Fe coating with echinopsismultiplex-like structure.

Abstract

A simple, low-cost, fluorine-free and eco-friendly method was applied to prepare a novel superhydrophobic Zn-Fe alloy coating on the surface of carbon steel. First of all, the Zn-Fe coating was obtained in an alkaline glycerol non-cyanide Zn-Fe plating solution. Then tetradecanoic acid was grafted onto the Zn-Fe coating by coordination reaction, leading to a superhydrophobic surface. The water contact angle was up to 166° and the sliding angle was 4°. As-prepared superhydrophobic coating exhibited high performances, such as strong adhesion to the substrate, impact resistance, self-cleaning, anti-fouling, and anti-corrosion. Importantly, until now, few reports focus on the use of non-cyanide alkaline glycerol plating bath for electrodeposition, which is green, composition-stable, and corrosion-free for devices. In addition, the growth mechanism of the echinopsismultiplex-like hierarchical micro/nano structure of the superhydrophobic surface was studied in detail.