Bio-inspired Superhydrophobic Self-healing Surfaces with Synergistic Anticorrosion Performance

The past decade has witnessed significant efforts in addressing the global metallic corrosion challenge, with a focus on avoiding or mitigating huge economic losses incurred by corrosion and on the development of protective coatings on metals. Herein, a synergistic anticorrosion coating with both superhydrophobicity and self-healing properties was reported, through a facile replica molding method by mixing the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix with nano-sized SiO2 particles and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) loaded halloysites (HNTs). The surface exhibits robust self-cleaning behavior under harsh conditions and high liquid repellence to withstand the osmosis of corrosive ions. The self-healing performance of the coating, due to the introduction of MBT-loaded HNTs, enhances the anticorrosion capability, which is still valid once the protective layer is damaged. Potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurements demonstrate that the synergetic effects in anticorrosion performances significantly enhance the long-term corrosion protection of metals. Hence, this type of dual-action coating may find unique applications in metal corrosion resistance where both super-repellency and self-healing properties are desired.