Fabrication of Nickel-base Super-hydrophobic Surface and Its Application to Marine Corrosion Protection

Nickel-base super-hydrophobic layer was fabricated on copper surface with two-step procedure of electrodeposition and surface modification. The micro-morphology, composition and wettability of the as-fabricated layer were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and water contact angle meter as well. The relationship between micro-morphology and wettability was studied based on the Cassie model. The corrosion protection performance of super-hydrophobic surface was evaluated with polarization curve. It was proven that the as-fabricated super-hydrophobic surface could effectively protect the underlying copper. The corrosion protection mechanism of super-hydrophobic surface was proposed based on the electrochemical measurement results.