Fabrication of self-cleaning super-hydrophobic nickel/graphene hybrid film with improved corrosion resistance on mild steel

Abstract

A self-cleaning super-hydrophobic nickel/graphene hybrid film with hierarchical structure was successfully fabricated on mild steel (MS) by electro-deposition process followed by myristic acid modification. The surface morphology and composition were characterized by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and attached energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDS). The results showed that the hierarchical nickel/graphene film was well formed with random pinecone-like nano-protrusions nickel array on every micro-graphene-protrusion. The super-hydrophobic surface exhibited excellent super-hydrophobicity with a static water contact angle (CA) as high as 160.4±1.5° and a sliding angle (SA) as low as 4.0±0.9°. The super-hydrophobic surface showed excellent anticorrosion performance, mechanical durability and long-term stability in 3.5wt.% NaCl solution, which were characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), sandpaper abrasion and immersion tests. In addition, the super-hydrophobic surface also exhibited good self-cleaning performance.