One-Step Potentiostatic Deposition of Micro-Particles on Al Alloy as Superhydrophobic Surface for Enhanced Corrosion Resistance by Reducing Interfacial Interactions

Abstract

Corrosion failure is a thorny problem that restricts the application of Al alloys. As a new technique for functional realization, hydrophobic preparation offers an efficient approach to solve corrosion problem. This work has developed a facile and low-cost method to endow Al alloy with enhanced water-repellent and anticorrosion abilities. The micro-particles have been firstly prepared by one-step deposition process. Furthermore, wetting and electrochemical behaviors of as-prepared structures have been investigated after silicone modification. Results show that the fabricated surface possesses excellent superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle (CA) of 154.7° and a sliding angle (SA) of 6.7°. Meanwhile, the resultant surface is proved with enhanced corrosion resistance by reducing interfacial interactions with seawater, owing to newly-generated solid-air-liquid interfaces. This work sheds positive insights into extending applications of Al alloys, especially in oceaneering fields.