Preparation of durable, self-cleaning and photocatalytic superhydrophobic Ni3S2 coating on 304 stainless steel surface against contaminations

Artificial superhydrophobic coatings with various properties have been developed by regulating surface chemical compositions and rough microstructures. Herein, a superhydrophobic Ni3S2 coating was fabricated on 304 stainless steel via combining electrodeposition, solvothermal reaction and chemical modification. Owing to the cooperation of the low surface energy of myristic acid, and rough structure of Ni3S2 nanorods, the coating exhibited remarkable superhydrophobicity with water contact angle (WCA) up to 163 ± 1°. The superhydrophobic coating tightly bonded with the steel substrate could withstand different mechanical damages, and the surface still maintained higher WCA after suffering from tape-peeling, sandpaper abrasion, water droplets impact and sand-flow impingement tests. In addition, the self-cleaning tests verified that the superhydrophobic coating was significantly repellent to different types of contaminations. Moreover, the Ni3S2 coating was capable of degrading methylene blue molecules under UV illumination, thereby restricting the damage of organic contaminations to the surface superhydrophobicity. It is expected that the durable and self-cleaning superhydrophobic coating will be suitable for achieving water-repellent surfaces to meet applications in harsh environments.