Micro/nanostructured ZnO-based superhydrophobic steel surface with enhanced corrosion protection

This paper presents a simple process of fabricating a superhydrophobic carbon steel surface with high water repellence and good corrosion resistance. The steel surface was covered by thin ZnO layers via various methods of sol-gel method, hydrothermal synthesis, and electrochemical deposition, then further functionalised with methyltrichlorosilane. Morphological features observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) show that ZnO layers are composed of micro/nanostructures. Furthermore, the chemical composition of these films has been analysed by an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). An optimum experimental condition, based on the type of Zn deposition method, has been obtained to provide superhydrophobic properties with a water contact angle of 152 ± 2o. In a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution, the corrosion resistance properties of the superhydrophobic ZnO-coated steel are found to be very good with an anti-corrosion efficiency of 93.12%.