Corrosion resistance conferred by superhydrophobic fluorinated polyacrylate-silica composite coatings on cold-rolled steel

The superhydrophobic surface (SHS) applied for corrosion protection in this study was prepared from an organic fluorinated polyacrylate incorporated with methyltriethoxysilane (MTES)-based silsesquioxanes spheres. The SHS, with a contact angle of about 153.2°, was coated onto the surface of cold-rolled steel (CRS) with spin-coating technology. The coating materials applied as anticorrosive coatings were based on a series of electrochemical corrosion-protection measurements in saline conditions. The SHS coating on CRS was found to provide superior corrosion protection to that of the hydrophobic organic coating in a series of electrochemical measurements in 3.5 wt % aqueous NaCl electrolyte. This form of coating could also provide better corrosion protection to coated CRS substrates and could serve as an effective barrier against aggressive species. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012