Slippery surface with ternary coupled structures for improving lubricant storage capacity

A slippery surface has the capability to protect the substrate surface, which can prevent substrate corrosion in a harsh environment. However, existing slippery surfaces have the limitation of insufficient oil-locking capability for rough structures, which limits their practical application. To solve the aforementioned limitation, the authors developed a slippery surface with a good oil-locking capability. First, a wire-cutting machine tool was used to fabricate ternary coupled grooved structures on an aluminum (Al) substrate, which could increase the lubricant-storage capacity of the microstructures, and the substrate was named slippery porous surface with groove-textured aluminum (Slips-G-Al). Then, a surface durability test was performed involving lubricant shear, sandpaper wear and water impact. The chemical stability test involved acid, alkali, salt corrosion and weather resistance tests, which showed that Slips-G-Al had a good lubricant-storage capacity compared with the traditional Slips surface. In addition, the self-cleaning performance and the fog collection capability of Slips-G-Al were also studied. Finally, an electrochemical corrosion test of Slips-G-Al was carried out. The findings showed remarkable application prospects in the aerospace and shipbuilding fields.