Electrodeposition Process For The Fabrication Of Superhydrophobic Surface On Metals

As the special property of the superhydrophobic surface, it has aroused a great deal of attention in anti-corrosion and self-cleaning fields. However, some methods to fabricate superhydrophobic surface are multistep and expensive. The resulting surfaces are fragile in some environments which limited it industrial applications. Therefore, developing a general, inexpensive way to fabricate superhydrophobic surface with stability is highly demanded. We develope a simple electrochemical process to fabricate copper dendrites film with stable superhydrophobicity, and the wetting property and corrosion resistance of the as-prepared film are also investigated.Copper dendrites are successfully prepared by the electrodeposition of copper ions in acidic copper sulfate solution contained ethanol. The concentration of CuSO4, H2SO4and ethanol is important for the formation of copper dendrites. SEM observes that the copper dendrites possess remarkable hierarchical structure. The XRD indicates that the copper dendrites possess face-centered cubic crystal structure. The EDS implies the copper dendrites very pure. We fabricate superhydrophobic surface by electrodeposition of copper ions in acidic copper sulfate solution contained ethanol-palmitic acid or ethanol-myristic acid. The concentration of CuSO4, H2SO4, ethanol-palmitic acid or ethanol-myristic acid play a key role in fabricating superhydrophobic surface. The current density and deposition time are also the key factors to create the superhydrophobic surface.The corrosion resistance of the as-prepared film is investigated by electrochemical polarization curve, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and weight loss measurements. The results show that the copper-superhydrophobic surface exhibits an obvious passivation phenomenon which has anticorrosion performance and good environmental stability. Iron-superhydrophobic surface has atmospheric stability, but galvanic corrosion will occurs.