A novel electrodeposition route for fabrication of the superhydrophobic surface with unique self-cleaning, mechanical abrasion and corrosion resistance properties

• We have prepared superhydrophobic Zn/pDop/NDM coatings on different substrates.
• Dopamine was successfully integrated into the electrodepositing system.
• The electrodeposition and polymerization processes showed a synergistic effect.
• The prepared coatings had excellent anti-abrasion and anti-corrosion properties.

Inspired by the adhesive proteins in mussels, a novel electrodeposition route has been developed to create multifunctional zinc (Zn)/polydopamine (pDop)/n-dodecyl mercaptan (NDM) composite coatings on different substrates, where oxidative polymerization of dopamine was simultaneously integrated during electrodeposition process. Hierarchical cauliflower-like structure was obtained on the electrodeposited Zn/pDop coatings. After modification with NDM, the prepared Zn/pDop/NDM coatings on different substrates (steel, Al and Cu) possessed excellent superhydrophobicity, exhibiting a maximum water contact angle (WCA) of 167.6° and a sliding angle (SA) less than 1° on the steel substrate. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were employed to investigate the morphology and the chemical composition of the coatings. The mechanisms of electrodeposition process were discussed. The integrated electrodeposition and polymerization processes promised a synergistic effect on promoting the superhydrophobicity of coating. Results indicated that the dopamine greatly improved the mechanical abrasion resistance of the prepared superhydrophobic coatings. Additionally, these coatings demonstrated superior superhydrophobic stability, corrosion resistance and self-cleaning properties. It is believed that this novel and facile electrodeposition route for fabricating superhydrophobic coatings on various metallic materials will generate great impacts in practical applications.

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