Fabrication of Ni–Co/Cu super-hydrophobic coating with improved corrosion resistance

Abstract

In this study, the super-hydrophobic Ni–Co/Cu composite coating was fabricated on carbon steel substrate by electrochemical deposition, chemical oxidation and surface modification. Their surface morphologies, structures and wetting properties were studied by SEM, XRD and contact angle measurements. The results shows that the as-prepared coating has super-hydrophobic property with a water contact angle of 158.61°. After the immersion test in seawater for 350 h, the super-hydrophobic Ni–Co/Cu composite coating shows a good durability of the hydrophobic property. The electrochemical tests indicate that the as-prepared super-hydrophobic coating exhibits excellent corrosion protection for carbon steel compared with Ni–Co and Ni–Co/Cu coating. This study developed a novel approach to improve the corrosion resistance of carbon steel.