Preparation of stable superhydrophobic film on stainless steel substrate by a combined approach using electrodeposition and fluorinated modification

A combined electrodeposition and fluorinated modification approach for preparation of stable superhydrophobic film on SS316L substrate is presented. Nickel film with micro-nano binary structure was coated on the substrate using electrodeposition techniques and then followed by a fluorinated modification process to obtain superhydrophobic surface. The surface morphology of the nickel film at micro/nano scale was characterized at different electrodeposition current densities. Results show that when the current density fall in the range from 5 to 9 A/dm(2), the contact angle with 5 mu L water droplets on the nickel film after fluorinated modification is higher than 160 degrees, and the sliding angle with 10 mu L, water droplets is as low as 1 degrees. Moreover, the superhydrophobic film has a very low contact angle hysteresis of 2.2 degrees. Results also show that the superhydrophobic nickel film on SS316L has satisfied stability both in strong acid and alkaline solutions, and the superhydrophobic property can still keep fairly well after a durability testing last for more than 400 days under ambient conditions. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.