Laser-enhanced electrodeposition preparation technology of superhydrophobic micro-nano structure coating

Abstract

The superhydrophobic surface has functions such as anti-wetting, self-cleaning, and anti-icing, which is widely used in aerospace, pipeline transportation, medical equipment and other fields. In this study, a combination of laser and electrodeposition (ECD) is used to prepare a coating with sponge-like micro-nano line structures by using the principle that laser thermal effect can enhance the local electrodeposition rate, and then treated with 1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane to obtain the function of superhydrophobic. This method achieves the simultaneous preparation of the coating and the micro-nano structures without destroying the substrate, and the micro-nano structures are uniform and controllable. The effects of current density, laser scanning line spacing, laser power density, and laser scanning speed on the line structures and the wettability of the coating were investigated experimentally, and the wear resistance and anti-icing properties were tested. The experiment results show that when the line spacing is 150 µm, the contact angle (CA) can reach 155°, and the sliding angle (SA) is less than 1°, which has good superhydrophobic performance. Moreover, the coefficient of friction (COF) of the prepared superhydrophobic coating is 0.606, and the CA gradually decreases to 147° after rubbing the superhydrophobic surface 20 times with 1000 # sandpaper at a pressure of 10 kPa, and the SA exceeds 10° after rubbing 35 times, showing good wear resistance. In addition, the water drop freezing experiment shows that the freezing time of this superhydrophobic coating is 200 s, which is about 13 times longer than that of the hydrophobic coating (CA: 102°) prepared at a line spacing of 300 µm, therefore, the coating has excellent anti-icing performance.