Biomimetic one step fabrication of manganese stearate superhydrophobic surface as an efficient barrier against marine corrosion and Chlorella vulgaris-induced biofouling

Abstract

Marine corrosion and biofouling on metallic materials are sticky problems. Herein, we prepared hierarchical structured superhydrophobic (SHPB) surfaces via a versatile one step electrodeposition approach. The synthetic SHPB surface was employed as an efficient barrier against corrosion and Chlorella vulgaris-induced biofouling. The surface morphology and chemical compositions were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) and Energy-dispersive spectrum (EDS). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization and immersion test in Chlorella vulgaris-inoculated culture medium were carried out to evaluate the anti-corrosion and anti-biofouling performance of the obtained SHPB surface. The results demonstrated that the synthetic SHPB surface exhibits great enhanced corrosion resistance and biofouling mitigation. Moreover, the as-fabricated SHPB surfaces retain superhydrophobicity in wicked environment such as strong acid and alkali conditions, showing good chemical stability. We believe that the SHPB surfaces over metallic substrates provide a potential and worthful strategy for marine corrosion and biofouling.