Design of mechanical robust superhydrophobic Cu coatings with excellent corrosion resistance and self-cleaning performance inspired by lotus leaf.

Various strategies have been developed to fabricate mechanical robust superhydrophobic membranes on the original substrates. However, for superhydrophobic coatings that have to be homologous to the inherently fragile substrate, their mechanical stability problems have not been satisfactorily solved. Herein, we prepared three hierarchical superhydrophobic Cu coating via facile pulse electrodeposition with microstructure size of 10–15, 30–40, and 60–70 µm, respectively. The resulting superhydrophobic coatings simultaneously exhibit excellent self-cleaning, mechanical robustness, and corrosion resistance. A hydrophobic mechanism suitable for worn superhydrophobic surfaces was proposed, which can well analyze the influence of microstructure changes on wettability. Moreover, these three coatings can withstand 15, 50, and 100 cycles of sandpaper abrasion, respectively, as the size of the microstructure increases. The results demonstrate a size effect of microstructure, which means surfaces with larger-sized microstructures can better maintain their superhydrophobicity under mechanical damage. Our findings offer a reference for improving the mechanical robustness of other superhydrophobic coatings that are homologous to the substrate. [Display omitted] • Three superhydrophobic Cu coatings with mechanical robustness, self-cleaning, and corrosion resistance were fabricated. • A hydrophobic mechanism suitable for worn superhydrophobic surfaces was proposed. • The size effect of microstructure on resisting mechanical damage was investigated. • A strategy in improving the mechanical stability of fragile coatings homologous to the substrate was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]