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In this work, a robust epoxy adhesive (EP) @ superhydrophobic SiO 2 (SH-SiO 2 )-based superhydrophobic coating was prepared on the aluminum substrate by a simple one-step spraying strategy. The prepared EP@SH-SiO 2 coating exhibits hierarchical micro/nanostructures and is capable of maintaining a contact angle of more than 150° after 1000 cm of abrasion length and 80 tape-peeling repetitions. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and quantum mechanics calculations show that the improved mechanical resistance is attributed to the enhanced interfacial interaction between the EP@SH-SiO 2 coating and the underlying substrate induced by the epoxy adhesive. Electrochemical measurements in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution show the corrosion inhibition efficiency of the EP@SH-SiO 2 coating reaches up to 99.99%, and even after 8 days of immersion, the low frequency impedance modulus of the EP@SH-SiO 2 sample is still ∼1 order of magnitude higher than that bare aluminum, demonstrating excellent long-term corrosion protection. The diffusion behavior of the corrosive medium in the EP@SH-SiO 2 coating was revealed by MD simulation to support the experimental results. Additionally, the EP@SH-SiO 2 coating exhibits good chemical stability and hydrophobic repair properties. This work will provide a new perspective for the preparation and study of robust superhydrophobic aluminum for corrosion protection properties.
Zhang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.