Anti-corrosion, anti-icing, and mechanically robust superhydrophobic coating based on Kaolin particles

Abstract

In this study, we developed a superhydrophobic coating on Q235 carbon steel using a layer-by-layer spray-coating technique, employing Kaolin particles, organosilanes, and epoxy resin as raw materials. The surface wettability, morphologies, chemical compositions, self-cleaning, mechanical stability, anti-icing, and anti-corrosion properties were systematically investigated. The research results demonstrate that the prepared superhydrophobic coating exhibits excellent mechanical stability, maintaining its superhydrophobic characteristics even after undergoing 420 abrasion cycles and 180 tape-peeling cycles. In ice formation tests at −10°C and −15°C, it was found that the icing times of water droplet on substrate protected by the superhydrophobic coating were greatly prolonged, indicating a superior delayed icing performance. Additionally, the coating shows durable and stable anti-corrosion performance with surface charge transfer resistance and low-frequency modulus values increased by seven orders of magnitude. The developed superhydrophobic coating can also be successfully applied to various substrate surfaces using the spray-coating method, demonstrating strong substrate compatibility. The realization of these comprehensive properties will facilitate the gradual adoption of superhydrophobic materials for functional protective applications on numerous facility and equipment surfaces.