Enhancing corrosion and biofouling resistance through superhydrophobic surface modification

A simple approach was developed for generating superhydrophobic surface modification of titanium and 9Cr-1Mo steel. Motivated by the lotus effect in which water droplets falling on the leaves bead up and roll off, anodization as well as etching followed by dip coating in myristic acid was attempted to create superhydrophobic surfaces. However, the water contact angle on titanium was found to be 148 degrees +/- 4 degrees, whereas in the case of 9Cr-1Mo steel, it was 107 degrees +/- 2 degrees. A detailed description of the surface-modified superhydrophobic titanium and hydrophobic 9Cr-1Mo steel is presented in this article. The corrosion performance and anti-biofouling properties are ascertained using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and epifluorescence microscopy. The present study revealed enhanced corrosion resistance and antibiofouling of the materials after superhydrophobic surface modification.