Liquid-infused surfaces based on ZnO/Co3O4/SiO2 with omniphobicity and durable anti-corrosion properties

Abstract

Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) are gaining remarkable amount of interest because of their exceptional liquid and solid repellency properties, their tolerance to high pressures and transparency. The lubricant layer may be depleted, leading to the loss of the “slippery” characteristics of the SLIPSs. Herein, we aimed to increase the lubricant storage capacity to enhance the long-term stability of SLIPSs through the construction of a hierarchical structure on the alloy substrates; the SLIPS herein thus represents a new kind of anti-corrosion material. By comparing the wetting speed of the lubricant and shear resistance properties, we showed that SLIPS with a ZnO/Co3O4/SiO2 hierarchical structure provided the best lubricant wettability among the samples investigated herein; the lubricant was contained in the interior of this sample, thus providing the highest shear-tolerance observed. We also investigated the anti-corrosion property of SLIPSs that comprised ZnO/Co3O4/SiO2. The hierarchical structure had enough space to store the lubricant, which provided excellent corrosion protection for the alloy substrate.