A facile approach to fabricate superhydrophobic Zn surface and its effect on corrosion resistance

A superhydrophobic Zn surface was prepared by the following facile approach. First, a simple method, water-only hydrothermal oxidation, was employed to fabricate loose-stacked ZnO nanorods with hexagonal cross-sections, resulting in a superhydrophilic Zn surface. Then the superhydrophilic Zn was modified with a low-surface-energy compound, changing the surface character from superhydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity. The superhydrophobic surface reduced the Zn corrosion rate to about one-eighth of that with an untreated surface. Such effective impact on corrosion resistance could be attributed to the obstructive effect and capillary effect caused by the surface superhydrophobicity.