Sheet-like superhydrophobic surfaces fabricated on copper as a barrier to corrosion in a simulated marine system

In this paper, superhydrophobic cuprous oxide films are fabricated together etching with calcination on copper surface with an easy-to-operate and inexpensive method followed by stearic acid modification. The surface of copper wettability, surface morphology and chemical composition are characterized by contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscope, X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry and XPS. In the light of the result, it demonstrates that micro-nanocuprous oxide structures can be achieved after etching heat combination treatment, and by modification, hydrophobic groups including -CH3 and -CH2- are introduced into the cuprous oxide particles. After contact angle measurement, the CA of surface is as high as 154.5 degrees. What's more, when the pH is 4-8, the contact angle can still reach 120 degrees or more. Electrochemical measurements shed light on that the superhydrophobic surface fabricated greatly improved the anti-corrosion performance of copper in 3.5 wt% NaCl aqueous solution. And the superhydrophobic surface with dual composite micro-nano structures can indicate the better corrosion resistance than that of single micro-nano structures. The presented method can be of major value for the industrial fabrication to construct inhibitive super hydrophobic surfaces of copper. This work provides a novel eco-friendly approach for corrosion protection of copper.