Two-step preparation of Ni-B/TiC combined with myristate superhydrophobic coating and corrosion resistance study

In this study, a two-phase superhydrophobic nanocomposite coating was prepared by combining electroless deposition and electrodeposition methods. Firstly, the Ni-B /TiC coating were prepared on the metal surface by electroless deposition. Then, the low surface energy cerium myristic acid coatings (Ce [CH 3 (CH 2 ) 12 COO] 3 ) were further prepared on the coating surface by electrodeposition. The test results showed that the two-phase composite coating with Ce [CH 3 (CH 2 ) 12 COO] 3 deposited on the Ni-B/TiC coating (Ni-B/TiC@MACe) had excellent nonwetting properties (water contact angle of 160.1° and rolling angle of 4.3°) and self-cleaning properties. The coating exhibited excellent stability and durability, retaining its superhydrophobicity even after 12 months of exposure to air. Notably, this performance was less affected by pH fluctuations. In addition, mechanical robustness was verified by 50 tape stripping cycles in which the superhydrophobic surface maintained a water contact angle of over 150°. The test results of corrosion resistance showed that the Ni-B/TiC@MACe coating has excellent corrosion resistance with a corrosion inhibition rate of 99.95 %, and the impedance modulus was three orders of magnitude higher than that of the Ni-B coating. In addition, the coating provided protection under simulated acidic conditions with a corrosion potential of - 0.27 V. In a long-term immersion test, the coating impedance modulus remained at 10 6 after seven days of immersion, which effectively protected the underlying metal from corrosion-induced damage. Therefore, the superhydrophobic coating in this study is expected to provide new ideas for the design of new anti-corrosion coatings.