TAGS: Marine / Protective Coatings
Researchers from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) report an organic-inorganic hybrid superamphiphobic coating. It's integrated with functionalities of liquid repellency, self-cleaning, anti-corrosion and anti-icing. The research team is led by Prof. ZHANG Binbin from the IOCAS.
Offers Superhydrophobic & Superoleophobic Properties
The corrosion and failure of metallic materials have always been a challenging issue. The biomimetic superhydrophobic materials are inspired by the lotus effect. It exhibits typical non-wetting characteristics at the interface. It has shown great potential in the field of corrosion protection.
The anti-corrosion function of superhydrophobic materials has earlier been confirmed. But, there are many challenges in transitioning from the laboratory to practical applications.
The designed coating exhibits both superhydrophobic and superoleophobic properties. It shows excellent repellency to low surface tension liquids such as water, glycerol, ethylene glycol and peanut oil. It also displays sliding angles with all less than 7°. The corrosion resistance of the coatings was evaluated. It was done using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Tafel polarization, salt spray test and outdoor atmospheric exposure.
The results show the charge transfer resistance and low-frequency modulus of the coating have been increased by 7-8 orders of magnitude. It endured 480 h of neutral salt spray and 2400 h of atmospheric exposure. Thus, it demonstrated significant long-term anti-corrosion potential.
The coatings also demonstrated their functional integration capabilities in self-cleaning, delayed icing, lossless liquid transportation and substrate applicability.
Multifunctional Integration Characteristics
There is a uniform dispersion of functionalized Al2O3 nanoparticles in the coatings. It provides multifunctional integration characteristics in the coatings.
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We firmly believe that in future research, the continuous improvement of functional integration and long-term stability will remain the focus of this field," said Prof. ZHANG, first and corresponding author of the study.
This study was supported by the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Source: Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences