Constructing a robust ZIF-7 based superhydrophobic coating with the excellent performance in self-cleaning, anti-icing, anti-biofouling and anti-corrosion

Herein, zinc gluconate was used as zinc source to synthesize ZIF-7@ZnG nanoparticles (NPs), and modified with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PFDS) to obtain ZIF-7@ZnG@PFDS superhydrophobic NPs. To improve the durability and wear resistance of superhydrophobic coating, epoxy resin (EP) was introduced as the connection layer to fabricate ZIF-7@ZnG@PFDS/EP superhydrophobic coating. The results show that the fabricated coating exhibits superior hydrophobicity (CA = 164°, SA = 3.7°) and manifests excellent performance in self-cleaning, anti-icing, anti-biofouling and anti-corrosion. It is worth mentioning that after 36 days of immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution, the impedance modulus of the coating is three orders of magnitude higher than that of EP coating. The result of wire beam electrode (WEB) confirms that ZIF-7@ZnG@PFDS/EP coating has a self-healing property in the artificial damage area. Finally, the influence mechanism of ZIF-7@ZnG@PFDS nanoparticles on the corrosion process was discussed. We believe this work could provide a novel insight into the preparation and application of superhydrophobic coating based on MOFs material.