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Solid polymer composite systems are widely being used for potential technological applications in secondary energy sources and electrochromic devices. In this study, we synthesized and characterized a composite material composed of polyaniline (PANI) and natural needle platy (NPG) vein graphite. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclic voltammetry (CV), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), micro-Raman analysis, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to study the structural and electrochemical properties of the prepared PANI/NPG graphite composite. XPS, FTIR, and micro-Raman analysis confirmed the existence of relevant functional groups and bonding in the prepared PANI/NPG composite material. The composite shows a very low corrosion rate, approximately 29 μm per year, and high hydrophobicity on steel surfaces, which helps to prevent the corrosion due to O 2 penetration towards the metal surface. It indicates that the composite can be used as a high potential surface coating material to anticorrosion. The specific capacitance of PANI/NPG composite is 833.3 F g −1 , which is higher than that of PANI. This synergistic electrical performance result proves the prepared PANI/NPG graphite composite as a suitable protective coating material for steel surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • MicroCoat® coated AISI 304 steel topography was modified by nanosecond laser pulses at variable incident laser fluence. • The water-wetting angles continuously decreased from 100° to 10° on the patterned surfaces. • The autonomous directional water flow was demonstrated on the laser-structured patterns of various shapes. • Temporal tracking of the contact angle after the laser structuring demonstrated gradual surface hydrophobization. A series of hybrid textures with variable topography and chemical composition were obtained on a hydrophilic steel (AISI 304) substrate with a hydrophobic MicroCoat® coating at the increasing incident nanosecond laser fluence from 1.4 J/cm2 to 5.6 J/cm2. The microtopography of the textured surface was studied by laser microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while the chemical composition of the surface was determined by IR spectroscopy. The contact angles of water wetting in the textured areas varied versus laser fluence from about 100° to 10°, which was explained by both ablative removal of the hydrophobic polymer coating and the increase in roughness of the hydrophilic steel surface. The time dependence of the contact angle on the different textures, which demonstrated hydrophobization at different time scales depending on the texturing conditions, was analyzed. Autonomous directional flow was observed on laser-patterned wetting-gradient structures of various shapes, and the flow velocity of water droplets on these structures were measured. It was shown that the velocity of water drop spreading on the gradient structures depends on the difference in contact angles on adjacent spots. The various modules fabricated can be harnessed in chemical and biomedical microfluidic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]