Fabrication of superhydrophobic TA2 titanium alloy and preliminary assessment of its antifouling, self-cleaning, anti-icing, friction resistance, and corrosion resistance performance

Abstract

Titanium alloy-based superhydrophobic surfaces have great advantages in terms of self-cleaning and corrosion resistance. To extend the application of titanium alloy, a multifunctional superhydrophobic TA2 titanium alloy was fabricated by anodic oxidation and chemical modification. Regular TiO₂ nanotube arrays were obtained after anodic oxidation and completely covered by 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane. The water contact angle of superhydrophobic TA2 titanium alloy is as high as 153.4° ± 0.6°, and the contact angle of the surface shows good stability in different pH aqueous solutions and different concentrations of NaCl solutions. At −10 °C, the icing time of superhydrophobic TA2 titanium alloy surface can be extended to 4400 s. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic TA2 titanium alloy still maintains superhydrophobic properties when polished 70 times by sandpaper, indicating that the surface has good friction resistance. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results show that superhydrophobic TA2 titanium alloy with a Z′|_f=0.01 Hz value of 84 kΩ cm² has better corrosion resistance compared with the TA2 titanium alloy. These results indicate that the superhydrophobic composite film integrates multiple functions on the surface of TA2 titanium alloy, which greatly expands its application.