Comparison Study of Self-Cleaning, Anti-Icing, and Durable Corrosion Resistance of Superhydrophobic and Lubricant-Infused Ultraslippery Surfaces

Langmuir. 2021 Sep 21;37(37):11061-11071. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c01684. Epub 2021 Sep 7.

Abstract

Endowing metallic surfaces with special wettability and unique interfacial contacts broadens their wide application fields. Herein, superhydrophobic and lubricant-infused ultraslippery surfaces were achieved through chemical etching, low surface energy molecule grafting, and lubricant infusion. Systematic comparison studies of the surface wettability, self-cleaning, anti-icing, anticorrosion behaviors, and mechanical durability were carried out to reveal the functional differences and mechanisms. Both superhydrophobic and ultraslippery surfaces exhibit a distinct decrease in ice adhesion strength and a remarkable increase in charge-transfer resistance, demonstrating significantly improved ice overdelay and corrosion-resisting performance. Most notably, given the existence of a stable, defect-free, and inert lubricant-infused layer, the lubricant-infused ultraslippery surfaces possess superior mechanical robustness and long-term corrosion resistance, which provides better application potential under challenging service environments.