Facile fabrication of superhydrophobic brass surface for excellent corrosion resistance

Abstract

In this study, superhydrophobic surfaces were fabricated using 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane monolayer deposition on thermally oxidized brass. The superhydrophobic surface showed a contact angle (CA) of 155° with a CA hysteresis of 3.5°. The corrosion behaviour of developed superhydrophobic surface was evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies in 3.5% NaCl solution. The superhydrophobic surface showed exceptional corrosion behaviour with nearly 21 times higher corrosion resistance compared to as-received (AS) brass. The EIS analysis suggests the presence of Warburg impedance in the AS brass indicating diffusion phenomena, while superhydrophobic brass surface showed a reversed loop in the low-frequency spectra, signifying significantly delayed kinetics of the electrochemical system. The study provides a facile, promising means of developing highly corrosion-resistant surfaces in engineering materials.