Synthesis of tin superhydrophobic surfaces on zinc substrates

A superhydrophobic surface with a water contact angle of 159 ± 2° and a sliding angle of 2 ± 2° on a zinc substrate is reported in this article. The process is composed of etching, replacement deposition and annealing treatment. The surface morphologies, chemical compositions and hydrophobicity of the as-prepared surfaces were investigated using a scanning electron microscope, powder X-ray diffraction analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. The superhydrophobicity of the fabricated surface results from composite structures which consist of densely packed nanoscale particles composed of tin on microscale cavities. The optimal conditions and the formation mechanism of the superhydrophobic surfaces were also studied. Moreover, the potentiodynamic polarization shows that the as-prepared superhydrophobic surface has excellent corrosion resistance, indicating promising industrial applications.