Superhydrophobic epoxy resin coating with composite nanostructures for metal protection

Superhydrophobic coatings have high application value and wide range of practicality. However, in daily life, problems such as the stability of superhydrophobic coatings are unavoidable, which greatly hinders further developments in the application process. Through this research, we designed a highly stable superhydrophobic coating with a composite structure. That is, by using simple hydrothermal treatment and spraying technology, a superhydrophobic coating with rough structure was obtained by adding 1 H, 1 H, 2 H, 2 H-Perfluorooctyltrichlorosilane modified nano-SiO₂ based on epoxy resin solution. Then, by adding stearic acid modified nano-ZnO (S-ZnO) particles, the structure and chemical bonding of the coating were enriched, and a stable superhydrophobic coating with composite nanostructures was prepared. The coating prepared under optimal conditions exhibited superb superhydrophobicity, the obtained water contact angle is 167.2° and the sliding angle is 2.1°. Meanwhile, the coating maintained marvellous superhydrophobicity under external mechanical damage (adhesive tape adhesion and sandpaper abrasion). In addition, the composite coating also exhibited good self-cleaning ability in dealing with solid pollutants and impurity liquids. Therefore, this composite nanostructured epoxy resin superhydrophobic coating can be used to effectively prevent matal corosion, and has the potential for mass production and daily uses.