Abstract

Superhydrophobic aluminium films have been successfully fabricated on steel substrate via chemical etching and electrophoretic deposition processes, followed by 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (FAS) modification. The resultant surface is investigated by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results show a hierarchical multi-scale structure and a grafted FAS film with low surface energy on the resultant sample surface, which confers excellent superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 168.9° and a sliding angle of ca. 1.5°. Such a superhydrophobic steel substrate shows an excellent anti-adhesion behaviour and anti-corrosion property against corrosive liquids. Furthermore, it also holds its superhydrophobicity even after a long-time exposure to air. Our work may provide a novel and facile fabrication route to prepare other functional superhydrophobic films on metal substrate for various applications.

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